Struggle and Strife
by Abel Sephaos
Summary: Cloud always thought it would be Sephiroth who killed him, not a redhead dressed in flamboyantly red leather. Cloud always thought he would join Zack and Aeris in the Lifestream after he died, not be reborn as Jaune Arc. Now stuck in the middle of a slow crawl apocalypse with no comrades in sight besides family, what's a man to do but rebuild his bike and start a delivery service?
1. Special Delivery

**Struggle and Strife**

 _Chapter 1, Special Delivery_

I do not own anything pertaining to the RWBY universe, or Final Fantasy. No stocks, no stakes in RT or SE, nothing. Don't even own any merchandise.

The idea wouldn't leave me alone, so I decided to write out the first chapter. Let me know what you think and I might continue with where my muse has already taken me, which is quite far, or just focus on my other stories.

 **[SaS]**

There were many things Cloud Strife hated.

He hated swamps, as they often led to him needing replacement boots due to the lingering smells.

He hated Sephiroth, for haunting his memories and dreams, even in death. He hated the silver haired General with everything that he was. Every fiber of his being. Every hair on his head carried the hatred he felt towards the man. It was just that intense.

He hated the way he felt the need to push everyone away, even if he wanted nothing more than to spend time with his loved ones. It was hard to fight the itch he felt while sitting in Seventh Heaven, despite having Tifa and Denzel to keep him company. A home life like he had is something he always wanted, but it was just... too much for him, sometimes, to act like a normal person.

He was, by and far, not a normal person. It was for that very reason that more often than not, Cloud found himself in the company of Vincent Valentine, Shelke Rui, Reno and Rude, mopping up the ruins of Midgar for the WRO when not resting or running deliveries.

It was almost a hobby of his, making sure that the mistakes of the past were wiped clean from the face of Gaia, but it was deeper than that. For each abomination escaped from the broken laboratories that he killed, it was one more tie to his own past that he severed, one more life he would save from experiencing pain at the hands of a fellow experiment gone wrong.

The former Turks, Reno and Rude, would run support along Cloud and Vincent while Shelke acted as their operator and without a doubt, they were the most fearsome foursome to ever walk the ruins of Midgar.

Cloud hated Mako Reactors. Having been exposed to enough Raw Mako to power a small village for years on end, it was not without reason that the blond swordsman avoided the many decrepit and rotting husks of the remnants left behind by ShinRa. Reactor Zero, the main reactor taken over by Deep Ground during the early days of ShinRa, had become a breeding zone for freaks and foes that Cloud was very glad never saw the light of day.

Even two years after the event of Omega WEAPON awakening and Chaos preventing the Final Solution of Gaia, the after effects of Deep Ground becoming active and Hojo seizing control of such a force remained apparent, even along the outskirts of Edge.

Other reactors were just as bad, likely due to remnants of Hojo's mind scattering on the ShinRa network that still controlled the shut off reactors. There were so many blacksites and store houses set up by the massive corporation that it was impossible to completely destroy the man and his psyche, or at the least, his will to destroy everything in revenge for the death of Sephiroth and JENOVA.

The large concentration of stagnant Mako in the reactors attracted the most heinous of monsters, both beast and human alike, so Cloud generally steered clear as a rule of thumb when out and about away from Midgar.

You can't deliver packages to folks in the wild lands between Edge and Kalm if you died to a Behemoth chewing on a Mako flavored bounty hunter while jacked up on enough of the liquid lifestream to rain lightning like it was confetti.

Cloud had seem some pretty bizarre things during his adventures, and they didn't seem to involve well dressed men posing at one another like the name would imply.

Not since that one time, in that one place that Cloud swore to make everyone else forget about, including himself.

Cloud snapped out of his thoughts of his adventures and went back to his original train of thoughts.

Namely, how much he hated absolutely everything right about that moment.

He hated the way he couldn't move his body.

He hated the way he couldn't even open his eyes for more than a second, just long enough to see where he was or at least see the figures who checked on him almost constantly.

He hated the way his ass and groin itched something fierce, like he was sitting in a festering diaper.

He hated just about everything. The cooing noises of someone happy reached his ears, but he could hardly understand a single word being spoken by either of the two voices.

Eventually, two voices turned into what sounded like six and Cloud felt himself become disoriented. He didn't recognize the accent, the language nor any of the voices speaking, and that sort of terrified him.

He had traveled Gaia too and fro, up and down, left and right and all over again more times than he could even remember. Not once could he remember _ever_ hearing a spoken language that sounded quite like this one.

Maybe Cloud was just being arrogant in assuming he had seen all Gaia had to offer in his twenty six years of life, but then again, he _was_ pretty confident he was widely traveled.

Midgar had been home to quite a few dozen cultures, hiding beneath a metal plate, rotting and stagnating without a care. Midgar had the habit of taking everything beautiful in the world and tarnishing it, something Cloud had become all too familiar with as he further integrated the memories of Zack Fair and the interspersed thoughts of Sephiroth.

Whatever it was that Hojo had done to Cloud, whatever it was that S-Cells had become after mutating from J-Cells, they were not done evolving and growing. Cloud was the only living host and no amount of Holy Water from the Church of Aeris could kill them off and allow him to live a normal life, instead changing them again into something different than before. Geostigma was gone, but the changes to his abilities after the healing waters purified his body were not.

The SOLDIER program was long dead along with the corporation that loved to create living weapons, but the reminders lived on within Cloud, the only remaining person alive with Mako Enhancements on the level of the Silver General outside of Vincent Valentine and his assortment of Deep Ground defectors.

The S-Cells had evolved again after the third death of Sephiroth, becoming less like a malignant foreign entity and more like an intelligent life-form that acted more in the benefit of Cloud than it did itself.

Vincent and his little posse loved to call them C-Cells, but Cloud didn't really see the point in either agreeing or disagreeing as they didn't exactly help him in delivering packages, which was sort of his source of income and thus livelihood.

Science wasn't going to pay his bills, hard work was.

It was this very mentality that cursed Cloud Strife unto dooming himself to a life he wasn't prepared to live, nor one he even particularly _wanted_ to live.

He wasn't sure when the transition happened, but it was somewhere between the juiced up Behemoth deciding that Cloud looked like a tasty snack and Fenrir deciding that it would run out of fuel at the worst possible time.

Needless to say, Cloud wasn't quite as prepared for his bike to explode and impale him with four of his six swords as he would have liked to be, nor the man clad in red wielding a massive saber to attack him immediately after he pulled his blades from his body. The behemoth was the first to fall and the ensuing battle between the weakened Cloud and his assailant was not as grand as he would have liked his final battle to be.

Cloud had attempted to ask why, but the words wouldn't escape his lips. His assailant, someone he recognized as Genesis Rhapsodos, was too busy raving about Cloud's death being the will of the Goddess, whoever she was, and how another world needed saving.

Cloud didn't much like Goddesses, not if they were calling for his death when he did his best to prevent the world from being destroyed. Especially not if that said Goddess assumed he would want to even save a second world, let alone the price to pay to get there.

Dying was not on the agenda of one Cloud Strife, but he supposed he would have to mark down it's arrival on his personal planner and cancel the plans he had for the rest of his life.

Afterwards, things had gone a bit hazy. He knew that he eventually died from his wounds. Bleeding out had been one of the least pleasant things Cloud had ever experienced, and boy did he experience a lot in his time alive. Nothing short of being doused in raw mako while having needles shoved into your spine was worse.

Some time in between his eyes closing and his death, something changed. He didn't know if it was his soul leaving his body to rejoin the lifestream, or perhaps even leave the planet like the babbling redhead said, but he did know it was no longer within the vessel he called his body.

Regaining his sense of being, however, came after some indiscernible amount of time.

For five months after suddenly regaining the ability to think, Cloud had been tortured with an incredible weakness of both body and mind, finding himself sleeping more than he liked and being spoon fed by blurry figures when he was conscious.

If he didn't know any better, he would have thought he was a baby, which was _crazy,_ so he did his best to convince himself he was just stranded in a land full of giants. It helped him sleep a bit better at night.

"Aww, why does Jaune look so upset all of the time?" Arturia questioned as she looked down at her baby brother, watching him squirm in his crib as he thrashed his hands back and forth, "Is it normal for a baby to be so mad?"

"No?" Mordred seemed just as puzzled as her twin, twirling a lock of platinum blond around her finger as she leaned over her baby brothers crib, "But he is _perfect_. I've always wanted a baby brother..."

"Yeah, we get it, Mor." Arturia rolled her eyes at the adoration her usually cold and stoic sister was displaying, "When did mom and dad say they'd be back?"

"Tomorrow night. You know what they are doing, don't play stupid." This time it was Mordred who rolled her eyes before gesturing towards her newest sibling, "How do you think they brought us this little angel?"

"He looks a bit too pissed off to be an angel..." Arturia trailed off as she watched the small babies face scrunch up once more before he let out a frustrated grunt, trying to open his strangely glowing eyes of azure blue with a singular ring of green around slightly slitted, cat-like pupils.

His glowing eyes appraised the two with disdain and confusion before shutting once more, the boy obviously wanting something from the two but unknowing how to properly communicate his thoughts, or likely not having the energy to do so.

"Ew, I think I know why he's so mad..." Arturia scrunched up her nose before wafting her hand in front of her face, causing Mordred to blanch before grabbing a shirt and wrapping it around her face.

"Don't worry, little brother, I will take care of you until you are old enough to take care of me." Mordred seemed oddly pleased as she cooed these words to the smelly child, leaning over his cage to drop one side and allow her access to change his diaper and clean him up.

When his eyes snapped open once more upon realizing that he was no longer clothed, Arturia held her breath upon being held under his gaze.

He was demanding an explination on why someone was cleaning him without permission, an oddly intelligent demand for a babe of five months to make with eye gestures alone.

Arturia pretended to ignore the creeping chill that settled down her spine as she realized that her five month old little brother was far more intelligent than he had any right being.

Besides the obvious irritation at being violated due to his own lack of control of his bodily functions, why did Jaune look like someone pissed in his cornflakes?

Arturia Arc, eldest daughter of Julius and Juniper Arc, didn't want to actually know the answer to the questions she continued to ask.

 **[SaS]**

Jaune was... a strange child, Julius and Juniper Arc came to learn quickly. By the age of three, he was capable of holding _intelligent_ conversation and seemed to carry himself with experience that no child, no matter how prodigious the bloodline, had any right to have.

For the first few years of his life, Jaune had seemed incredibly moody and withdrawn, more so than any baby Julius or Juniper ever had until one day, he seemed to almost accept his situation and started attempting to get closer with his family.

After the child started giving advice to Julius on how to maintain his blade and shield, Crocea Mors, the two parents of the child began to grow a bit more than weirded out by the curiously intelligent child.

One did not display skills in cleaning swords without having ever touched a blade before, causing Julius to come to the only conclusion he could.

His son was either some sort of super genius or an alien, one that was able to learn at a rate that was beyond anything Julius, Juniper or their many sisters could prepare themselves for. Julius was pretty convinced Jaune was an alien.

By the age of five, he was walking the forest armed to the teeth with massive, wooden swords that he carved from the trunks of felled trees, wielding one in each hand and having two back-ups strapped to his back. It wasn't long after he was armed that he proceeded to clear an entire pathway from the Arc stronghold to the nearest town, some fifteen miles out from the walled residence.

Mordred was the one to ask why he cleared such a wide and long path, he gave his sisters a small smile that seemed to shine for all of a second before it was gone. When he said it was for his bike, Julius pointed out that Jaune didn't even own a bike, let alone the fact he didn't know how to ride one. Jaune couldn't be blamed for hating the family Bullhead despite being the only Arc in known history to not have the curse that was motion sickness.

Another reason that Julius thought his son was really an alien.

Jaune seemed to take it as some sort of challenge and from that day on, he was seen working on the start of something monstrous while studying the latest technologies related to vehicles being released by Atlas and Mistral the moment they were released to public domain.

Lancolette, his third eldest sister, asked why he didn't order any Vacuoan or Valean tech as often as he did Atlesian and Mistralian, yet he didn't give a verbal answer. Instead, a curled lip raised in disgust and an incredulous look was all that was needed to get his message across as he leaned his small frame over the motor he was building from the ground up, three times the size of his body.

Things seemed relatively tame for a few months afterwards until Julius awoke one morning to the most god awful racket that ever disturbed his ears.

When asked on why Jaune was attempting to wield six different shaped and sized swords at once, he just shrugged his shoulders and said he thought it was a good idea.

Julius didn't have it in his heart to tell his son that trying to learn how to properly wield swords _four times bigger than him_ in each hand was not a good idea. Instead, he encouraged his son in any endeavors the boy put his mind to.

By the age of ten, Jaune had not only learned how to wield one of the massive swords made with live edges, but _all six_ that he could somehow fit together to form an even _bigger_ sword.

It was still twice as long and wide as he was tall, but Julius had no doubt that he would eventually grow into the weapon as he continued to age. If the Patriarch had to be honest, it was one of the most beautifully crafted weapons he had ever seen in his life, and the most ridiculous.

Mechashift weapons were fine, but if you were going to use a giant sword, why not have it shift into some form of gun, or even a cannon? Jaune didn't like the idea of having a gun and decided to have his sword either turn into smaller swords, or an even bigger sword.

Apparently, Jaune really liked his swords.

The only other weapon his family had seen him attempt to wield had been a baseball bat, and with how many nails and wraps of barbed wire there were on that weapon he made, it was potentially even more dangerous than the blades he carried around due to risk of tetanus.

Juniper had expressed being scared for and of her only son, but Julius had set her mind at ease easily with a few hushed whispers and reassurance sex, something that they didn't know was a thing until Jaune had been born.

'The boy is an Arc, and we all know Arc's don't do normal well.'

Jaune was practically the living embodiment of that particular saying within the Arc family, however.

When he was twelve, he decided to point his hands at a large pile of stacked wood within the compound and stood there for hours a day for a month straight.

None of his sisters wanted to tell him that he looked like a constipated psychopath, so they ignored their little brother and his slightly more bizarre than usual behavior. Mordred, the stoic but kind sister that always stuck by his side, decided to humor him and would practice her sword forms while he attempted to do _whatever it was_ he was attempting to do.

Well, they ignored him until one day the pile of wood he continued to point his hands at spontaneously combusted, levitated into the air and combusted again. No one could forget the cackling, ominous laughter that came from the normally very quiet Jaune.

It was even worse when he decided to summon _lightning_ to strike as he did so, seemingly figuring out how to make nature bend to his will during his month of pointing his hands at a pile of logs and willing it to catch fire.

Julius knew that his son could do anything he put his mind to, but that was just _pushing it._

Like he had been telling Juniper all along, Jaune _had_ to be an alien. There just wasn't any other explination. The boy clearly came from Juniper's womb, Julius was there as a witness, but they would never believe he was Human, or Faunus for that matter.

Without having his aura unlocked, Jaune was able to do things that just didn't make sense.

None of the Arc's wanted to upset the blond haired, blue eyed wolf in sheeps wool after that. For how sweet he was to his sisters and how docile he became when someone ran their hands through his hair, there was something very, very wrong with Jaune Arc.

When he started making ice sculptures out of Grimm getting too close to the compound during his many days of wandering the woods, none of them blinked an eye. Beowulves suddenly implode in on themselves and rain black ichor from some unseen increase in gravity? That's cool, Jaune, you do you.

Nothing the blond did phased the Arc family after years and years of experience dealing with his particular flavor of strange.

At the age of fifteen, Jaune had finished the massive project he started when he was challenged about not owning a bike. Namely, he built a monster from the ground up, custom ordering each and every piece of the behemoth of a land vehicle and decided he would call it a bike.

Julius, Juniper and Mordred paid for each of the parts, of course, with a promise from Jaune to pay them back for each and every piece when he had the money.

Like everything Jaune did, he did it big or he didn't do it at all. Everything was incredibly over the top with him, yet he acted like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Julius could hardly control the bike when he demanded his son let him ride it first to test how safe of a vehicle it was, but Jaune could even bunny hop the beast despite his smaller frame than his fathers.

While he wasn't quite stacked like his father, Jaune was clearly developing a figure that denoted just how often he worked with things twice his size, his swords and bike only being the first examples.

For all of his oddities, for all of his strength, the Arc family loved Jaune Arc dearly and would do anything to keep their prodigal son happy. When Jaune hadn't expressed an interest in becoming a Huntsman, Julius didn't push it and encouraged his son to pursue whatever he decided he wanted to do with the rest of his life.

Jaune had bounced a few ideas off of the man ranging from opening a bar in the town of Amarilla to starting his own delivery service, the second option being the preferred choice of the blond with the former being a last resort.

The first few deliveries had been made after his sixteenth birthday and afterwards, he was almost never home except to drop off money, gifts for his siblings and parents and sometimes the odd part for new weapons he started to design when he did decide to stay home.

This continued to this very day and for once, there was actual peace in the Arc compound without their alien son there to liven things up. Mordred and Arturia had moved out a month after Jaune first started working while Lancolette, Gwynn, Jocylynn, Kayte and Morganna stayed home at the compound with their parents to watch over them.

Things were going just fine for the Arc family. _Just fine._

 **[SaS]**

Jaune couldn't say he was too displeased with his lot in his second life. Seventeen years after being reborn in a new body and with a new name, some of the wounds upon his soul and mind had been healed from his time as Cloud Strife.

It still hurt him to wake up every day and know that he would never, ever see his loved ones again, but he had long grown used to the idea. Gaia had rejected him, prevented him from joining the Lifestream in death and instead, flung his essence into the cosmos.

That was the theory that Jaune had long come to accept.

He couldn't explain why his eyes still glowed with Mako-Shine, or why his body still produced the strange cells that Vincent and his posse had dubbed C-Cells, but he wasn't exactly a scientist nor versed in whatever process it was that Jaune went through after dying to end up being born as Jaune Arc.

He didn't know if he was on the same planet millions of years in the past or future, he didn't know if he was on a _different_ planet millions of years in the past or future.

All Jaune knew was that he was not on Gaia and had no way of ever getting back. How the traits that came from being an experiment of Hojo transposed into his new body Jaune did not know, nor did he really care.

Perhaps his soul had become so drenched in the life essence of Gaia that his body would naturally produce the shine. That very explination is the same he used when explaining the presence of what may as well been benevolent S-Cells within his bloodstream.

The only theory that Jaune could come up with is that his soul had become like its own lifestream and that the smaller, self contained lifestream had been flung to another planet where it merged with the fetus of the unborn Jaune Arc.

Like a hitchhiker, Cloud had likely taken over the body and mind of the body subconsciously and made it his own.

Jaune didn't like to think about the hows or the whys of his abilities and body, he was just thankful he could rely on skills he knew worked whenever he found himself in Grimm situations.

There had been a tingling feeling in the back of his head when he was twelve, one that he remembered feeling hundreds of times before when using different types of materia, causing him to come to a startling conclusion.

Whatever materia he had on him when he died was transferred along with his essence, allowing him to call upon the same abilities he had on his deathbed, though at a larger cost in mana than he remembered.

Jaune was very pleased to learn that he could not only still use his offensive spells when the need for such abilities came, he could also heal as well. One thing he prided himself on was his ability to heal, something he picked up after the death of Aeris as a reminder.

Cloud hadn't wanted to lose any more comrades, not with how badly it hurt to lose Aeris. The healing materia that she once used had been used as a gemstone with his pink ribbon, so perhaps the condensed memories of the Cetra carried over as well as the essence of Cloud Strife.

When it came to dying and reincarnating, Jaune couldn't be sure of anything, so he chalked it up as something he would likely never know for certain and accept that his combat potential had remained as potent now as it was in his previous life.

His soul and body seemed to remember his experiences just as his mind did. He didn't want to tell his father that he was correct in assuming his son was an alien as the blond highly doubted that would go over well with the man, even if delivered as a passing joke.

While he did not go to extreme measures to hide his abilities, Jaune knew it wasn't quite normal on Remnant to be able to cast magic spells, let alone without the use of either aura or dust. While he had access to the potent energy of the soul after his father unlocked his aura upon his fifteenth birthday, his mana remained as an independent power source and would remain hidden until the day came he could no longer hide it.

The reborn Cloud learned as much as he could about the world around him when he realized he was no longer on Gaia and knew just how dire the situation was on Remnant. Only four countries existed, calling themselves Kingdoms, and they were each under almost constant siege from creatures of darkness known as the Grimm.

The Grimm were creatures that didn't surprise or cause fear in Jaune all that much, especially considering he was used to tangoing with giant snakes seventy feet in length.

Zoloms, whether the Midgar or Mideel variety, were _far_ more dangerous than any King Taijitu Jaune had ever come across, so his fear of the Creatures of Grimm was minimal at best, no matter the variety. Nothing short of a stampede would stop Jaune when he started swinging his swords, especially considering that his stature was greater than it was in his previous life and allowed for even stronger swings of his blade than before.

Despite his skill, however, his body was still young and needed a bit more time to catch up with his previous peak strength, even with reactor levels of aura and mana stored within his core.

Standing at six foot two inches, Jaune Arc made for a very imposing figure, especially when donning his combat garb. His current outfit was a darker remake of his previous attire in a slightly larger size, the Cloudy Wolf as Tifa loved to call it, though he no longer wore the sleeve upon his left arm to cover the signs of Geostigma.

Instead, around his left arm was a black ribbon, something he refused to take off unless he was bathing. It was a reminder of the ribbon he once wore, pink in color, before the Planet decided to reject its favorite chew toy and send him into the void to be reborn again as the chew toy of a different planet.

Okay, so Jaune was a bit bitter, but he didn't let it consume him.

Jaune revved the engine of Fenrir as he approached the gates of what appeared to be a large village with sharpened tree-trunks tied together to form the barrier wall around it, idly curious as to why there was such a large enclave so far from civilization. Due to the large distance, it made receiving reinforcements an impossibility. Pulling his scroll from the inside pocket of his riding duster, Jaune peered at the GPS pinging his current location and compared it with where his latest package was to be delivered.

After confirming that he was at the right place, Jaune killed the engine of his monster of a bike and slid one of his fusion swords from the sheathes built into Fenrir and placed it on the massive holster on his back. Another was removed, then another until all six blades rested upon his back.

Pulling his goggles from around his eyes and setting them within a storage compartment of the land yacht called a bike, Jaune removed the delicate package from its resting place within his bikes storage and moved towards the gate of the large encampment in the wilds of Anima.

"Special delivery for Miss Raven Branwen." Jaune called out as he approached the gates, unaware of the situation he was about to walk into.

It was a special delivery alright, but was the package to be delivered the box under his arm, or Jaune himself?


	2. Quoth The Raven, Forevermore

**Struggle and Strife**

 _Chapter 2, Quoth The Raven, Forevermore_

I do not own anything pertaining to the RWBY universe, or Final Fantasy. No stocks, no stakes in RT or SE, nothing. Don't even own any merchandise.

Raven is one of the only people I can see someone like Cloud Strife willingly entering a relationship with besides Blake or Yang. I wouldn't consider it _dumb_ by any measure to explore a potential pairing for the future of this story.

 **[SaS]**

The first person to approach Jaune was a man with a mullet haircut. He wore a grey sleeveless vest over a short sleeve shirt with a red handkerchief around his throat, seemingly a common theme among those living at the enclave.

"Boss is busy, you can leave it with me." The man called out while drawing closer to Jaune, a cocky smirk on his face, "That's a mighty fine bike you got there."

"Thanks. I'm afraid I can't leave the package, however," Jaune allowed his free hand to drift to the hilt of the central blade of the fusion sword, "I need her signature so I can receive payment."

"Like I said, She's busy," The unnamed man seemed to catch the wordless hint that Jaune was providing, reaching for his own weapon while spreading his feet a bit wider, "I just can't seem to recall where I've seen a bike like that before."

"You haven't, custom job," Jaune was losing his desire to have the package delivered, "Can you give me a time when she won't be busy?"

"Hmm... She's always busy," The man shrugged his shoulders while drawing his weapon, a mixture of a trench knife and a revolver, "Think I can take it for a spin?"

"No," The blade Jaune had been fingering was left upon his back as his hand fell away, "Now if you are done posturing, I'll be on my way. Tell Miss Raven she should contact me about her package whenever she isn't busy."

"Buddy, you think this is a game? Give me the keys and take a hike." The man seemed adamant in his stupidity as he waved the gun in a fashion that demanded Jaune to toss him the keys, "Or do you want to eat some lead for lunch?"

"What?" Jaune questioned almost incredulously before moving forward, looming over the shorter figure with fire in his eyes, figuratively and literally, "I couldn't hear you, want to repeat that louder for me, _little man_?"

When it became obvious that Jaune was _not_ intimidated by the trashy looking gate guard, the man scoffed and took a step back as he holstered his weapon.

It was plain to see that none of his comrades wanted to help him rob the blond delivery boy of his bike, especially when Jaune proved that he was more than willing to fight back when he began to give the man evil eyes.

The many figures standing around the tall gates of the wooden enclave tensed when he stood with a gun pressed to his chest so casually, but the way they were acting now was suspicious to the reincarnated ex-terrorist. Tensing his shoulders, Jaune had to stop himself from spinning on his heels immediately when he felt another presence draw closer, one that was suspiciously familiar to the blond.

"I admit, the intelligence of the men loyal to my Tribe has drastically declined over the past decade," Came a voice from the person now standing behind Jaune, causing him to turn and face the new comer with his hand resting upon the hilt of his largest blade, only to drop his hands when he noticed that the masked figure had not drawn their own weapon, "I apologize for the rude behavior of my men, they seem to forget their positions. I do not recall granting Shay D. Mann here the authority to speak for me."

Understanding a requested ceasefire when he saw one, Jaune relaxed his stance slightly and allowed his gaze to fall away from the trembling man, "You need to get less trigger-happy guards, this man would have lost what makes him a male had he kept talking."

"Oh, I am," The masked figure nodded before sending a sharp glance towards the cowering man and those struggling to stand under the heavy gaze of both Jaune and the masked figure who approached him, "Believe me, I am."

Nodding his head, Jaune regarded the figure before him, taking notice of the long, wavy black hair that spilled from beneath the ornate white mask that covered the eyes of the distinctly female figure in red. Around her throat were five necklaces of black beads that fell onto her exposed cleavage, likely to distract any male opponents she might face in the world. Jaune certainly found the mounds a sight for sore eyes but did not allow his gaze to rest longer than a split second more than necessary.

After being forced into abstinence for the last seventeen years of his life and going through a second, more brutal bout with puberty, Jaune was a bit more willing to admit he had _some_ form of earthly desires, unlike his previous incarnation as Cloud Strife.

Over a red and black dress she wore a girdle of the same color scheme with what appeared to be a set of pouches that hung from her left hip.

Upon her right hip were bound feathers that gave her the appearance of having plumage around her waist. Covering only enough to be considered an article of clothing and not a belt, a micro mini-skirt rested upon her hips and finished her ensemble outside of her tall boots.

"Are you Raven Branwen, ma'am?" Jaune hedged uneasily after a few moments of the woman staring him down with a gaze that reminded him of Vincent so much that it hurt, "I have a package I need to deliver before I can get back on the road."

"I am," The now named Raven eventually nodded her head in acceptance before gesturing towards the gate of her compound, "Come, let's talk inside."

"I'm sort of in a... you know what, sure, that's cool," Jaune eventually agreed when she spun on her heel and began to march towards the gates without waiting for his response, "Lead the way, ma'am."

He couldn't shake the feeling he knew this masked woman, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember from where. Jaune did _not_ like not remembering people.

 **[SaS]**

Raven couldn't help but relish the excited feeling bubbling in her stomach as the two walked towards the tent in the back of the compound that she claimed as her own. She had waited a _long, long_ time for this moment and she would be damned if she didn't get her way now that she had her target on her home turf.

The Leader of the Branwen Tribe had been a close associate with Julius Arc in the past while they were students at Beacon, closer than acquaintances but not quite friends. Julius happened to owe her a favor or three and she decided to cash in one of those favors quite a few years ago, when the object of her interest was still too young for even Raven to pursue, even as amoral as she was.

She had stumbled onto the Arc compound, bloody and a bit more than weary from the long fight she finished not even a day before arriving at the home of Julius, looking for a place to lay her head for a few hours without being at risk of being devoured by Grimm or murdered by her own clansmen for her position.

It was midnight when she knocked on the front door of the large home, having to climb over the large walls manually due to lacking the energy needed to fly or even leap over the protective barriers. One of her eyes was swollen shut and she was covered in blood and grime, so she certainly hoped it was Julius to answer the door and not his wife.

Julius was always the less squeamish of the two blonds.

Julius was not the one to answer the door, however, dashing whatever hope that Raven felt for not having to explain why a bloodied and beaten woman was darkening their doorstep.

Instead, what appeared to be a twelve year old wielding a sword twice the size of his body like it was a kitchen knife answered the door in nothing but a towel, his eyes glowing a mystical green that pinned Raven in place the moment they landed upon her.

Like a lantern in the night, those green orbs held her gaze and guided her from the dark thoughts circling her mind at almost all points. After what seemed like an hour of being held under the judgmental glare of slitted, green orbs promising a swift death, they flickered and shifted into an equally bright glowing azure color while his pupils rounded out.

His gaze softened the moment he scanned her body, understanding from the way that she was standing that she was heavily wounded and in need of medical attention.

He led her to a guest bedroom after she flashed him a handkerchief bearing the insignia of the Arc family, a gift from Julius from years ago that she had kept tucked within a pouch she kept on her waist to clean her blade of blood and excess oil. From the way he relaxed upon seeing the cloth, it was apparent that he knew the significance of her having such an object in her possession.

Jaune knew that his father had given handkerchiefs with the Arc crescents embroidered in gold out to those he considered trustworthy during his days at Beacon, so seeing a wounded woman bearing one was enough to allow her passage into the Arc family home.

Without a word, the young blond wearing a towel and wielding a giant sword like it weighed no more than a butter knife turned and marched away, but not before giving her one more piercing glare. He didn't need to vocalize the threat within his gaze and only disappeared when she held her hands up in a placating manner as if revealing she wasn't hiding anything in her hands.

She had taken a long shower, dressed her wounds, took a nap and was gone before the sun rose, once more heading towards the Branwen encampment that she took over after the death of the previous Tribal Chief. Julius had stopped her on the way out and questioned her presence, forcing her to admit that his twelve year old son let her in.

She didn't tell him what he was wearing, or rather _not_ wearing when he did so, feeling no need for that tidbit of information to be used against her by the Patriarch of the Arc family later in her life.

Needless to say, Raven had been very intrigued by the courage displayed by the young child, but more than that, she had felt the massive pools of mana that hid away within his small frame along side his aura due to her close proximity to him.

As one of the only magic users outside of the Maidens to use mana, even in minute amounts, it was a great shock to her system to find someone so young with such massive reserves of the ethereal energy, more so when his reserves were stronger than the man who granted her the corvian form she used frequently.

The years passed quickly for Raven, who continued to watch over Jaune from a nice, safe distance after that night. He never seemed to notice her presence as she watched over him, but the way his eyes wandered the treeline on most days she would watch him proved that he knew when he was being observed.

"So...," Her messenger started, turning his azure gaze towards her as the two parted the cloth leading into her tent, "May I ask why I've been asked to stick around?"

"Do you not wish for a small rest before you go?" Raven questioned, a small, amused smirk tugging at her lips despite him not being able to see it, "You must have been on the road for quite some time."

"I wouldn't say no to some tea if you have any," Jaune accepted the offer with a grateful nod, having been parched from the many hours spent traveling the wilds of Anima, "That sounds nice right about now."

"Vernal," Raven snapped her fingers as she reached up to remove her mask, the object pulling away from her face with a hiss, "Please bring us my personal tea set."

A short, brown haired woman with bright blue eyes appeared from the shadows of the room, giving the woman dressed in red a deep bow before moving to complete the request of her leader.

Jaune eyed the blue eyed female wearily as she slinked from the shadows, a spark of something familiar dancing between the two as she moved to leave after casting one more curious glance his way, likely feeling the same tug. That very familiar feeling had started tingling at the back of his mind the moment Raven made her presence known behind him at the gates, leading him to come to the only conclusion he could.

Somehow, he was not the only magic user on Remnant. The feeling of mana flowing through someones body was not a feeling Jaune could forget, not when he spent so long training himself to actually sense the energy.

If Sephiroth was to reform and try to approach Edge once more, Cloud wanted to feel the man coming so he could at least warn the others first.

This conclusion set Jaune on edge, something that wasn't lost on Raven as she pulled out a chair for him to take before moving around the small table she kept for meetings, taking her own position at the head of the table.

"Relax, please, I didn't ask you here to fight," Raven attempted to ease his nerves by removing her blade from her waist, still sheathed as she tossed it to lay upon her bed along with her mask, "I just want to know how an Arc, especially one so young, became a magic user. Was it Ozpin, perchance?"

Jaune tensed his shoulders further and placed a hand near his shoulder, itching to draw his blade and demand answers from the woman before relaxing his posture, allowing his hand to fall away as he fixed his glowing, azure eyes upon her own orbs of carmine.

"Magic isn't real, and I don't know anyone by the name of Ozpin. Sorry." Jaune didn't seem very apologetic about being unaware of a person named Ozpin, "Is this some sort of joke?"

"Don't take me for a fool, little Jaune," Raven smiled demurely from across the table as Vernal returned carrying a tray with a steaming pot of water, "We can both feel it rolling off of you in waves."

"I'm not attempting to take anyone for a fool, Ma'am, but I can't say I know what you are talking about." Jaune wasn't about to spill any of his secrets, crossing his arms over his chest to show that he was adamant in his refusal to answer any questions, "I don't know what to tell you."

"No, I don't think you do," Raven didn't seem off put by his refusal to answer her questions, instead finding the denial incredibly amusing, "I see that you don't trust me, but I can hardly blame you for not spilling your secrets to someone you consider a stranger."

"And you don't consider _me_ a stranger?" Jaune tilted his head slightly in questioning, his blond brows furrowing in thought as he stared at the crimson eyed woman before he was reminded of an event that happened over five years prior, "Wait... I think I remember you now... are you that lady who showed up at midnight a few years ago?"

It was not lost upon Raven that he didn't mention the state in which she showed up in, perhaps as a way of allowing her to save face in front of someone who was obviously her subordinate.

The fact that Jaune understood the need for a leader to appear strong in front of their followers was another reason Raven wanted, _needed_ him to join the Branwen Tribe, even if as an unofficial member or ally.

Jaune sighed and rolled his shoulders a bit, reaching up to rub his neck as he did so before speaking, "So how have you been since that night? Sorry for answering the door like that, I was... not in a good spot mentally." Jaune eventually coughed into his hand as the memories of so long ago came rushing back.

He remembered answering the door with his Fusion Sword fully assembled and held in a reverse hand grip, but he could also remember just getting out of the shower and having only wrapped a towel around his waist before the loud knocking interrupted him drying off.

"Don't worry, I don't hold it against you," Raven glanced upwards to assure him of such, her eyes closing into an almost half-lidded state as she did so, "Though I do admit it was one of the... _strangest_ moments of my life."

How did someone admit that a twelve year old boy wielding a massive sword like a dagger poised for a downward strike stirred something within her that only her previous lover had without coming across as a pedophile?

Well, you didn't, so Raven kept that little bit of information to herself.

Now that he had reached the age of majority, however, Jaune was free game and Raven was very much willing to become a player once more, if only to have him join her as Vernal had.

With a magic wielding Arc and the Spring Maiden on her side, Raven had no doubts that the Branwen Tribe would go from being petty bandits to a threat to be reckoned with in no time.

With only two strong fighters to their ranks after the betrayal of Qrow, Raven was in desperate need for firepower. More specifically, she was in need of firepower that was loyal to her, and her alone.

How did one assure loyalty within a man like Jaune Arc, though?

The leader of the Branwen Tribe had watched him carefully for years, noting everything about him that she could find within a small notebook she kept on her person at all times. It was her little black book, one that held the secrets of her desires aimed towards the blond monster hiding in human flesh, for that was all that he could be.

A monster pretending to be human, much like herself.

She saw it within those green gems that he hid behind azure curtains of light. The anguish, the _sorrow_ that so easily dwarfed her own despite being her junior by almost thirty years.

Something had damaged her little Jaune Arc, twisting him into an apathetic machine capable of wielding forces beyond the wrath of nature and the soul and all before he was even officially a teenager. Five years later and she could still see it, roiling just beneath the surface and waiting to be drawn out of him.

Raven felt much the same on most days, allowing life to pass her by without feeling any of the fulfillment, the joy that living was supposed to bring.

She didn't quite feel emotions the same way others did, having known from a young age that she was _different_ than the rest. Even her twin brother, Qrow, did not operate in the same ways as Raven, capable of feeling and expressing the emotions that fluttered through his simple heart and mind, no matter how much he tried to kill them off with alcohol poisoning nightly.

At one point, Raven thought she had felt something between Taiyang and herself, but it had been fleeting and brief. Whatever it was that consumed her mind and body that night had passed like a casket being lowered into the ground, buried under the cold calculations she lived by once more.

Nine months later saw her having a child with the same man that made her feel alive for a night. She stuck around Patch during her pregnancy, trying with all of her might to rekindle whatever it was that consumed her so under the lilac, caring gaze of Taiyang, but it was for naught.

Leaving behind a child, former teammate and lover had made her feel something as well, but it was an emotion that Raven rarely felt and when she did, she would squash it without a thought.

Remorse, regret, guilt, call it what you will. To Raven, they were all the same and for some time, it was difficult to stop herself from returning to claim Yang for herself.

She left to protect them both, from the game played between Ozpin and Salem, and herself. Raven knew that most of the problems of Team STRQ had been her fault. It was difficult working with a sociopath, to say the least, but Raven attempted to be grateful for the understanding her three teammates had shown her during her stay at Beacon.

Yang didn't need someone like Raven in her life as a role model. Instead, Raven left her to the only two people she would have ever, _ever_ trusted with something so personal to herself as her only living child.

Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao-Long became the two parents that her daughter needed, no matter how much it wounded the pride of the Matriarch of the Branwen Tribe to see her only flesh and blood she considered worthy raised outside of her little clan.

Jaune made her feel alive that night, five years ago. She had felt as if she were stripped bare and exposed under the powerful gaze of the young blond, something she had never felt before.

Even Ozpin, who had reincarnated after every death and lived a cumulative thousand years, did not make her feel _fear_.

Nothing made her feel the way Jaune made her feel that night.

"Are you alright...?" Jaune hedged after a moment, shifting slightly under being held under the sharp gaze of the Tribal Leader, "You seem distracted."

"I'm fine... thank you for asking," Raven added the final part almost as an afterthought, almost surprised at the question on her personal well being, "I just have a lot on my mind."

"I imagine you would," Jaune noted, glancing around the room for a few moments to take in the sights of the womans living quarters, "It must be difficult, leading so many people so far from society."

"We get by," Raven brought her glass to her lips after offering Jaune his own glass of tea, "Sometimes it's more work than it's worth."

"Leadership is usually like that," Jaune raised his glass in appreciation before taking a quick draft, making sure to blow on the steaming liquid first, "With men like that Shay fellow, I imagine you have your plate full."

A light laugh of amusement was the only response Jaune received, the two falling into a semi-peaceful silence as they drank their tea. Any conversations about magic had seemingly been forgotten, thankfully, though Jaune was aware that the woman still desired an answer from him.

It felt like hours before Jaune set the glass down, emptying the refreshment from the glass and relishing the way the taste lingered upon his tongue.

"That was some of the best tea I've had in a long time. Thank you," Jaune gave her a nod of respect before motioning to rise from his seated position, once more rolling his neck and shoulder as he did so, "But I really need to hit the road if I plan on making it to an inn before night falls."

"It is awfully dangerous around these parts at night," Raven noted casually as she motioned to rise as well, "Would you like to stay and rest your head for the night?"

"I wouldn't want to trouble you any further, ma'am," Jaune tried to wave off her concern, knowing that she might have an ulterior motive to wanting him to stick around, "I don't want to impose."

"Nonsense. Please, stay, consider it my way of paying you back for that night many moons ago," Raven insisted with a hint of something in her voice that Jaune didn't quite recognize, though he could have mistaken it for desperation, "It would put my mind at ease a great deal if you stayed."

Jaune could tell she was being honest when she said that, especially considering that her eyes did not waver in the slightest as she stared at him. For some reason, her honesty set him on edge even more than if she had lied to him.

"... If you insist, I won't say no to a free room for the night." Jaune eventually agreed before motioning towards the flap of her tent, "Do you mind if I go and get Fenrir, then? I don't like leaving it so far from me if I'm going to be sticking around a bit longer."

"Be my guest," Raven gestured towards the same area that Jaune just did, "I will be waiting for your return."

She meant every word she said, and that worried the blond reincarnation of Cloud Strife a bit more than it should have.

 **[SaS]**

Despite being enhanced past the human limits by both the cells within his bloodstream and the aura empowering his body, Jaune was incredibly sore.

Having been camping in the wilds of Anima for three weeks, tonight would be the first night he was able to relax even slightly. The plan to head to the nearest town to seek out an inn had been a lie for Jaune to get away from the encampment, but the insistence of Raven Branwen had prevented him from leaving the tall walls longer than needed to retrieve his bike.

Only twenty minutes had passed since he agreed to stay and there was much activity happening within the encampment. Many of those gathered spread out and began to gather firewood from the area surrounding the compound before returning and piling it neatly in the middle of the large area the Branwens called home.

A massive pyre had been built with multiple spears bearing different wild animals placed around it, cooking the meats and causing the aroma of dinner to arouse the hunger that Jaune had been pushing away as best as he could.

While he was not a bad hunter, it was incredibly hard for him to sneak up on animals of prey with how much aura and mana he was bleeding from his body at a constant rate to prevent a rupture within his internal workings from occurring. That said, Jaune usually packed a months worth of rations away on Fenrir, but had forgotten to replenish said stocks after his most recent delivery to Atlas.

Jaune found himself sitting to the right of Raven while Vernal sat to her left as they enjoyed the small tournament being held by the men and women of the Branwen Tribe.

"I think she has this one in the bag," Jaune admitted while taking a small draft of the large horn of Mead that had been offered to him, "She only needs one more shot at his ribs to put him down."

"You are right," Raven noted as she watched the fight unfold for her entertainment, "Though the same can be said about him. One more strike to the chest should end it in his favor."

"I think they will both-" Anything Vernal was about to say was cut off when her prediction came true. The man and woman duking it out in the ring below struck at once, the woman moving for his ribs while his fist was set on a collision course with her solar plexus. "What do ya know..."

Raven sighed as she pulled a lien card from the inside of her shirt and slid it down the table towards her subordinate, Jaune doing the same a moment later as the Spring Maiden grinned in delight.

"Thanks, boss!" Vernal grinned happily at being two hundred Lien richer than she was five minutes prior, almost dreading the outcome of the most recent fight after losing her previous bet with her leader on the results of the brutal fights down below, "I needed this for a new pair of gloves."

"Did you already wear the last pair out?" Raven questioned curiously as she rose her own horn to her lips, drinking deeply from the sweet alcoholic beverage that she usually drank when at home, "It has only been a month."

"I've been training harder lately..." Vernal trailed off after admitting to putting in more time training, seemingly conflicted about something that she didn't want to admit to in the presence of Jaune, if the fleeting glance she sent his way was an indicator, "Don't want a repeat of my mistakes in the past."

"I'm glad to hear it," Raven didn't look her way, but Vernal could hear the small amount of pride in Raven's voice when she spoke, "I know you can do better."

"I promised I wouldn't let you down again and I intend to keep that promise," Vernal was oddly serious for how jubilant she had been while she watched the fighting members of the Branwen Tribe, "I swore it on my blood."

"I know you won't, Vernal," Raven did glance her way this time, a small smile tugging at her lips as she glanced at the short haired woman setting opposite of Jaune by her side, "Relax and enjoy tonight. I know I will."

Jaune didn't notice the pointed look being shared between the two women, instead taking another drink from his horn while watching the fighting below.

He wouldn't admit it, but he was enjoying himself far more than he thought he would. It was like being back at the Golden Saucer, but better due to the lack of nerve wracking music threatening to melt his brain.

The night was young and for the first time in a long time, Raven found herself actually smiling as she turned back to the festivities and boisterous jaunts of her tribesmen.

Tonight was going to be a good damn night, no matter what.


	3. Going Down Under

**Struggle and Strife**

 _Chapter 3, Going Down Under_

I do not own anything pertaining to the RWBY universe, or Final Fantasy. No stocks, no stakes in RT or SE, nothing. Don't even own any merchandise.

 **[SaS]**

The many festivities held by the Branwen Tribe had slowly dwindled as the hours passed by, the moon rising higher and higher in the sky to denote the passage of time. Jaune had asked to be excused after another two hours of enjoying the company of Raven and Vernal, having learned quite a bit about both women in the small amount of time he sat with them.

One of the first things he noticed was how frequently their eyes wandered and their barely concealed intentions. Neither had drank quite as much mead as he had, instead allowing him to drain the large horn twice for each time either woman finished their own. Of course, Raven and Vernal were ignorant on just how little alcohol actually influenced him, the C-Cells and transient Mako contained within his veins hardly allowing for more than a light buzz at best.

Vernal had been the one to direct him to a small tent located behind Raven's, her face schooled into a polite smile despite the fleeting glimpses she had sent him. There was a scent in the air that Jaune would have considered sweet if not for the musk of desire that mingled with it.

"Well, this is it. What time are you going to be heading out tomorrow?" Vernal questioned curiously, both arms clasped behind her back before she leaned forward on the balls of her feet.

The way she held herself _almost_ made her seem innocent, but Jaune knew a loaded question when he heard one.

"As soon as the sun breaks the horizon, I need to make my way back towards Mistral." Jaune sighed before rolling his right shoulder, the last week of sleeping with his back against Fenrir coming back to bite him as soon as he started to relax a bit.

"Oh, but that's... just a few hours from now." The blue eyed female seemed a bit taken aback at his admission, having expected him to at least stay and rest until around noon the following day. "You sure you don't need more time than that?"

"I only need three or four hours of sleep anyway, it's no big deal." Jaune rose a brow at the line of questioning posed by the shorter woman, because there was no way someone who carried themselves like her was a teenager like she appeared to be. "It's never a good idea for someone like me to get too comfortable."

Vernal seemed to understand the unspoken offer for company was denied, though she took it in stride. "Someone like you, huh? Aren't you just a delivery boy, though?"

Jaune laughed at the slight jab at his occupation before shaking his head as he spoke. "If you knew the things I have to go through to make sure my packages are safely delivered, you'd think I was a Huntsman."

"Are you?" Vernal gave him a searching look before shaking her head, "Nah, you don't really seem the Huntsman type, I don't see it."

"You're right about that..." Jaune trailed off, a distant glaze forming over his eyes as he thought about his past failures made in a prior life, "Anyway, I'm going to go ahead and turn in. Have a good night, Vernal, and tell Raven I said the same. I'll likely be up and gone by the time you two wake."

"Yeah, night." The short haired brunette dressed in blue gave him one last look before shrugging her shoulders, turning and entering the tent just beside the one temporarily allotted to him.

Jaune blinked once before sighing and entering the small tent, his weapons large holster sliding from his shoulder as he went. The interior of the tent was mostly bare with only two items left behind that may have hinted at a prior occupant, a flower-wreath styled hair pin and a long green scarf neatly placed on a small wooden table with a tiny mirror laid beside them.

There was no source of illumination present, but the Mako Shine of his eyes was more than enough to chase away the shadows and brighten the room enough for him to see. Sometimes, it was almost convenient to have eyes that glowed bright enough to be considered flashlights in their own right.

The bedding and hanging curtains around the bed tucked into the corner bore floral designs as well and were faintly scented.

Placing his array of swords near where he would be resting, Jaune sat down on the edge of the bed and allowed his arms to rest on his knees as he sagged forward slightly. Lacing his fingers together, the former experiment took a few minutes to gather his thoughts and plan out the following day before eventually allowing himself to settle onto the almost too small mattress.

It hadn't taken him long to settle into what he considered his resting state, lingering somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness. His years on the road with AVALANCHE and his many misadventures after Meteor had taught him the benefits of sleeping with one eye open. Post-Midgar Gaia was, dare he say it, worse off than Remnant by a large margin, if only due to the many monsters that arose that dwarfed the Grimm by a large margin.

You couldn't afford to sleep heavy with threats like Sephiroth, JENOVA, Deep Ground and later the Geo-Stigma virus. Peace was hardly peaceful, and Jaune would carry the weight of his former life even after reincarnation.

His rest lasted just as he said it would, no more than four hours. His pools of Aura and Magic were topped off and his body had healed whatever wounds ailed him, the C-cells within him working their magic in a way no healing spell could quite touch, save for Aeris herself.

Blue eyes cracked open and his body rose on command, no lingering sleep holding him down with the conglomeration of different energies running through his veins. He could compare it to a high grade sugar rush, like downing two Turbo-Elixers with a splash of an Ether.

Gathering his weapons and making sure the many blades were secure, the former terrorist turned vigilante passed through the cloth flaps keeping the breeze from his tent and started to make his way towards where he left Fenrir parked.

He was unsurprised to see Raven leaning near the large monstrosity he called a bike, her arms crossed over her ample bosom in what appeared to be impatience.

Jaune hoped he hadn't offended her, but from the crease of her brow he registered that it may have come to pass regardless.

"Did you enjoy your rest?" Raven questioned lightly as Jaune came to a rest near his method of transport, her head tilting slightly as she gave him a once over.

There was something in her gaze that left him feeling as naked as the day he was born. It reminded him of the unkind eyes of Hojo for a fleeting moment, causing him to stiffen and his right hand twitch.

Raven noticed instantly and averted her gaze, her posture relaxing slightly as she did so to show she meant no harm. Subtle body language could be read like a book, as it was the language of nature and beasts, for those who knew what to look for that is.

"It was better than sleeping on the ground." Jaune shrugged lightly after another tense moment of silence, his muscles ripping beneath the weight of his weapon and heavy pauldron, "I appreciate the comfort afforded."

"It was nothing." The ebony haired woman shook her head in a light denial, "You have done the same, I couldn't not repay that debt."

"Dad obviously trusted you, and I trust him."

The _'I don't trust you, though'_ was left unsaid, only implied.

Raven shrugged in response to his kind but dismissive responses, knowing how to read between the lines better than most.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay longer?" Raven felt like it would be a waste to not extend the offer, "We could use someone like you and I'm sure I could pay better than your delivery service."

It was a hollow, as she knew his response before he made it.

"Thanks, but Lien isn't really important to me." Jaune took another step towards Fenrir, his hand reaching out to brush along a hidden switch, "I enjoy my freedom."

The compartment built to hold his swords sprung out and he began to put them away one by one until his back only held the core support blade. Fenrir sprung to life a second later as his left hand revved the throttle in a specific pattern only known to him, similar to feeling the tumblers within a lock.

Once more, Jaune left the unspoken message to hang in the air between them, denying Raven twice in both appreciation and servitude.

The leader of the clan of bandits took his rebuffs as well as her protege had the night prior, though there seemed to be something close to hurt hidden in the depths of her ruby shaded eyes. Just as quickly as it came, it was snuffed by cold acceptance.

"Regardless, I'm sure we'll meet again." Raven turned on her heel and began to walk away, pausing only for a few moments to make one final comment. "Be safe out there."

"You too." Jaune nodded in her direction to show he appreciated her consideration before settling himself onto the massive seat of Fenrir and revved its engine twice.

Soon after, the large gates surrounding the Branwen encampment slid open and Jaune was allowed to pass, Fenrir blasting down the road towards Mistral at break neck speeds just as the sun peaked over the horizon and lit his way.

Vernal leaned against the large wooden beams that made up the outside of their camp, her face scrunched up into something akin to worry as she watched his back disappear in the distance.

"I hope you're careful out there, Jaune."

 **[SaS]**

Two weeks had passed since Jaune's night with the Branwen Tribe, and once more the taller reincarnation of Cloud Strife found himself on another delivery.

This time, his package was to be delivered to Menagerie, somewhere Jaune had never considered going in the past. After all, how often did a Human step foot in the official home of the Faunus species?

If not for his eyes, Jaune could have passed off for your average Human and thus his entrance should have been barred, but he had been granted permission to board the only vessel between Mistral and Menagerie without a question.

For the first time in either of his lives, the former unofficial leader of AVALANCHE had thanked Sephiroth for having creepy green cat eyes, and then Hojo for giving Cloud said creepy green cat eyes with his experiments.

Well, if the Faunus thought he was one of them, who was he to argue if it got him to where he needed to go?

He never stopped to consider it may have been from the obvious arsenal of weapons he wore on his back, or the rather intense look that was more often than not etched upon his face that gained him access to the ship and not the question of his species.

Stowing away Fenrir within the depths of the ship had been the most difficult part of his day so far, and that was hardly a difficult task with his experience in international travel by that point. His method of transportation had drawn more than a few heads, but that was a common occurrence for the youngest male of Arc descent.

Jaune had taken his time to wander around the ship afterwards to try and get a good read on his fellow passengers, a few of which proving worthy of keeping an eye out for. He couldn't help but be a bit on edge at being surrounded by so many unknowns, especially when a few bore weapons that denoted their status as Huntsmen.

It wasn't hard to tell the different between civilian grade weapons meant for self defense within the Kingdoms and high quality weapons meant to be used against either Huntsmen or Grimm.

The vessel had been on its way towards Menagerie for nearly two days when the warning siren announcing a Grimm attack rung out in the halls of the large ship, a system used to warn the passengers ahead of the Captain's message to brace themselves.

Jaune was content with enjoying the rather nice room afforded to him by the woman who ordered a package to be delivered directly to Menagerie, knowing that vessels specializing in international transport usually had hired guards in the form of Huntsmen aboard.

It was only a few minutes after the warning alarm rang that he figured something was wrong, mainly by the sound of an explosion reaching his ears followed by the vessel shaking heavily.

"That can't be good..." Jaune groaned as he rose from his resting position before grabbing the familiar holster laying not to far from his position that held his many blades, "Well, might as well go check it out."

 **[SaS]**

"Captain! We aren't going to be able to turn in time!" A loud voice called out from behind the ships Captain as he pointed to what appeared to be a massive sea dragon with a bone white mask and long, serpentine body with crimson slits along its sides, "It's charging some kind of attack in it's mouth, sir!"

"Shut the fuck up already, Jenkins!" Captain Black roared out in anger from his position at the helm of the ship, doing all he could to force his vessel out of the way of the largest Grimm he had ever seen, "You're telling me shit I can obviously see for myself!"

Let it be known that Captain Black was _not_ a vulgar man, at least not usually. He had been charting the waters of Remnant since he was a lad, having learned his maritime skills by his father, who had learned from his father, and so forth. In actuality, he was Captain Black the thirty second, but as he stared down the jowls of the dragon shaped Grimm that had ambushed them not even a day from Menagerie, he may as well have been Captain Black the Last.

In that moment, the sea fairer closed his eyes and sent a prayer to anyone worth praying to save them, the Huntsmen and single Huntress having been hired in defense of the large travel ship being incapable of stopping the beast. Two had been tossed overboard by the massive Grimm's first laser beam attack, and by the blood stains on the bow of the ship visible from the main deck, the fate of the last two was left up in the air.

After a few seconds of his eyes being closed, the Captain heard a loud gasp from Jenkins and what sounded like a cheer of some sort.

Daring to open his left eye slowly, as if peeking through his fingers at a monster breathing down his neck, Captain Black was both surprised and relieved by what he saw.

The tall blond that some of his crewmen had whispered about whenever they saw him pass had appeared at seemingly the very last moment in their defense. Bracing himself by standing on the outside glass of the main deck and with his massive sword stabbed through the lower jaw of the Grimm, the large sea dragon shaped monster of darkness was incapable of firing it's attack outward and appeared to have it directed inward instead.

Bolts of lightning erupted from the mouth of the dragon Grimm but appeared to shoot in every direction but forward, large gouts erupting from both the left and right side of the large blade piercing through its snout.

Lightning traveled through the blade currently making a Grimm-kebab as well, but seemed to stop near the handle of the weapon and thus prevented its wielder from being shocked by such obviously large concentrations of electricity.

"Holy shit..." Once more, Captain Black heard the voice of Jenkins speak out after being told in no uncertain words to keep his silence, but the Captain could hardly blame the man for his shock.

As it was, he, too, was having a hard time believing what he was witnessing. He knew Huntsmen and Huntresses were skilled and all, but he had _never_ seen them do something quite like what the blond was at the moment.

After preventing the lightning attack of the sea dragon Grimm, which they still had no idea the name of, the apparently skilled warrior withdrew a sword from within his other sword with his left hand and proceeded to slice and dice the throat of the Grimm as if it were made of paper.

Almost fifteen seconds after he appeared, their blond savior had slain the Grimm via decapitation like it was nothing, leaving the massive head gored atop his blade while its body crumpled, instantly limp without a head. Considering he was using the counterweight of the Grimm to keep him pressed against the glass of the room containing the Captain and piloting crew, he was forced to jump moments later to the deck below, just near where the now disintegrating body lay decaying.

"I need a sit rep folks, get to it!" Captain Black called out after remembering where he was, once more assuming the role of command required of him to lead, "We need to know just how bad the damage is and if anyone besides the Hunter team is wounded!"

With that said, the Captain lowered the power to the engines and set them to nothing more than a snails crawl until he could get a good idea on his vessels structural integrity. That first attack had seriously scared him, and now that it was clear they were out of danger for the time being, it was only natural he would want to make sure his pride and joy was still sea worthy.

"And someone go get me that blond, I want to thank him for saving our asses!"

 **[SaS]**

Jaune Arc, previously Cloud Strife, hated being the center of attention with a passion. Despite his obvious habits that leaned towards selfless heroics, he never liked the eyes said heroics drew. It made blending into the crowd as he walked Fenrir from the boarded vessel down towards Kuo Kuana, the capital and only real village of Menagerie, difficult to say the least.

" _Is that him?"_

" _Yeah, that's the guy that thrashed that giant dragon Grimm! I recorded it, check it out!"_

" _Whoa, no way, look at those swords!"_

" _Do you think he'd give me an autograph?"_

The former terrorist had overestimated the strength of the Grimm that decided to attack their vessel and had responded with a nearly fully powered Cross Slash, but thankfully none of his attacks tore through the ship like he feared they would have. He had no idea how the hell two Huntsmen had gotten so injured by the weak creature, but he wasn't going to lose any sleep wondering about it.

Now that he found himself making landfall at Menagerie, he peered out at the road before him and took in the sights provided by the home of the Faunus.

"This place... is almost like Costa Del Sol." Jaune noted to himself with a bit of wonder to his tone, having done very little research on his destination before setting off, "I'm actually kind of glad I'm going to be here a while now."

With two of the ships six engines damaged and a large portion of the hull being sawed into by the sea dragon Grimm, it was going to take a few weeks before the large ship would be considered sea worthy again. Jaune would have been more put out by the entire situation if the Captain of the ship hadn't given him a few thousand Lien in compensation for saving his ship and the lives of those aboard.

This afforded the spiky haired blond a few weeks to enjoy himself before he had to play catchup on the inevitable pile up of deliveries he would need to make afterwards.

With a heavy sigh, the blond turned his attention to the package still secured within a compartment built into Fenrir specifically for long distance deliveries after popping the trunk of his behemoth of a bike.

"Now, if my name was Kali Belladonna, where would I be?"

As Jaune came to a halt at the foot of the steps leading up from the docking area of Kuo Kuana, he found himself asking yet another question.

"Better yet, how the hell am I going to get Fenrir up this set of stairs?"

Had he known he wouldn't be able to ride his bike around Menagerie, he would have left Fenrir at home.


	4. Of Ninjas and Love!

**Struggle and Strife**

 _Chapter 4, Of Ninjas and Love_

I do not own anything pertaining to the RWBY universe, or Final Fantasy. No stocks, no stakes in RT or SE, nothing. Don't even own any merchandise.

 **[SaS]**

After a few minutes of debate and asking permission by what appeared to be the local law enforcement, Jaune decided that perhaps driving Fenrir up the steps would be the only choice he had outside of dragging the monstrosity of a bike by hand. People had quickly gotten out of his way to allow the large bike to pass them, more than a few folks giving him an ugly stare as a result.

During the climb up the multiple flights of stairs, the former Army grunt took his time to examine his surroundings a bit closer, finding more than a few instances where he could compare Kuo Kuana to Wutai, if in architecture and native plant life.

The island nation was very obviously tropical in nature, quite a few palm trees blowing in the wind while the faint smell of the sea mixed pleasantly with the scent of fruits and spices in the distance. Thanks to his enhanced senses, the former puppet of Sephiroth could pick out subtle hints of something else mixed in the breeze, likely an odd mixture of pheromones being released by the animal-like people around him.

He once more found himself cursing Hojo even in his death for the curse placed upon him in his former life, knowing that he _shouldn't_ be able to pick up traces of the sickly sweet smell that faintly wafted by when he passed by a particularly bold Faunus with wide hips and a lions tail wrapped around her waist.

Jaune had glanced in her direction for all of a moment, Mako green meeting amber before he turned away with a light blush dusting his cheeks.

She had wiggled her brows before winking as he passed, and it took a bit more restraint than normal to stop him from turning his head slightly to watch her descend the steps from the corner of his eyes.

He _was_ a male, and he _did_ appreciate a good view, but staring at someones ass while driving where he shouldn't have been had been the main reason Reno the former Turk wasn't allowed in Edge and Jaune did _not_ want to be kicked out of Menagerie for crashing.

After a few moments of driving, the spiky haired swordsman reached the top of the stairs and slowed Fenrir to a stop to give him a moment to figure out where he was going. Houses and businesses dotted the horizon for as far as he could see, large portions of foliage having been removed within the once dense jungle to make way for the civilization that had sprung up on the island.

There was nothing he could really do at the moment besides continue forward, driving along the widened dirt path until he came across what he assumed to be a hostel of sorts. Once more pulling over and allowing Fenrir to lower itself to the ground to rest upon its frame to prevent the bike from being stolen, Jaune retrieved the rest of the Fusion Sword from his weapon compartment and the brown parcel he had carried from Mistral to Menagerie.

The black-clad blond found himself being watched by the curious passers by that lumbered up and down the streets of Kuo Kuana, some of them going as far as whispering and pointing like the passengers of Captain Black's ship had. It was obvious that the rumors from the ship-goers was already making their rounds with the natives.

Suppressing a wince at just how many eyes were drawn his way, the blond ushered himself into the hotel and proceeded towards the front desk after making sure his array of weapons were secure within their holsters.

"H-hello! Good evening, mate!" Came a nervous voice to Jaune's right as he stepped into the main lounge, causing him to slowly turn his head to meet the gaze of the jittery looking woman that called out to him, "May... may I help you?"

The woman looked to be less than five and a half feet tall, though her ears clearly put her at almost six foot alone. She wore what appeared to be a tight black leotard under a slightly unzipped mechanic suit with large goggles upon her brow. Her hair was a dark chocolate brown while her eyes were only a few shades lighter. A button like nose and pouty lips rounded out her already soft features, giving her an appearance that put her well within Jaune's top fifty of memorable faces.

Her accent was strange, sounding almost mocking in a way just by the tone, even though she had clearly worded her greeting and question politely.

"I'd like to rent a room for four days and nights, please." Jaune proceeded towards the desk at a brisk pace and had to lean down a bit to maintain eye contact. Mostly it was so he didn't have to look down his nose to maintain eye contact with the woman bearing a name tag with the name 'Scarlatina' on it.

"Oh, were you one of the Huntsmen for the Black Pearl?" She perked up a bit after hearing how long he would be staying, having been told by the owner of the hotel that she should expect an influx of guests within the next few days, "I hope you didn't have your hands too full on this trip, I heard you guys ran into a Sea Feilong!"

Jaune blinked in confusion, having never heard the name before in his life before coming to the conclusion that she was talking about the dragon Grimm that had roughed up the team of four hired to protect the ship he was on.

"I'm not a Huntsman, but we did run into a sea dragon if that's what a Sea Feilong is." Jaune didn't elaborate on the fact that he had turned said sea dragon into sashimi after the Huntsmen failed to take it down, "So, about that room?"

All it took was a quirk of his brow and a further incline of his head to get the poor woman to quickly start tapping away at her large Scroll, a blush dancing across her button-like nose at the look. She had cast another nervous look at the arsenal of weapons on his back after his admission of not being a Huntsman, only for her eyes to widen a moment later in some form of recognition after eying his pauldron.

He didn't know what she was thinking, and he most likely didn't want to. She seemed like a strange individual from what he could tell, shy and quirky. He had his fair share with just what _quirky_ really meant beneath the surface.

"T-that will be two hundred Lien, sir! Are you p-paying with chip, or card?" The brown haired Faunus eventually gathered her wits enough to speak once more, pulling up one of the fifteen rooms left available in the hotel.

Reaching into his inner coat and fondling the contents of one of his hidden pockets, Jaune eventually found what he was feeling around for and withdrew what functioned as 'cash', three cards that held a hundred Lien within each. "Chip is fine, never trust a bank."

Scarlatina giggled at his monotone delivery and attempted to hand him back one of the cards after noticing more than two. "Here you go sir, I only need two hundred."

"Keep it, I was actually about to ask a favor of you, if you wouldn't mind." Jaune refused the card before raising the brown parcel with his left hand, having had it tucked beneath his arm while they spoke, "I have a delivery to make but I have no idea where to start looking for the recipient."

"Oh? I, uh, do mechanic work when I'm not here, so I know a lot of people around town... m-may I ask who you are looking for?" The woman looked a bit concerned about taking such a large amount of money from a stranger, especially for something as little as giving directions.

"A woman named Kali Belladonna, does that ring any bells?" The spiky haired blond asked hopefully, knowing that his chances of finding the woman on his own were abysmal at best.

It wasn't as if he could just look her up on the web with his Scroll, as most people hardly put their information out for the public to know.

"That's the High Chieftain's wife, of course I know who she is!" The woman almost seemed offended at the question and then her eyes narrowed in his direction, "How do _you_ not know who she is?"

Well, that wasn't something he was expecting to hear. Jaune knew that unlike the four Kingdoms, Menagerie had a singular leader in the form of a benevolent dictatorship, but that was as far as he bothered to study in the past. Considering his occupation and his lack of ability to stay in one place long, he never took the governments of those around him too seriously, as they would hardly impact his life out in the wilds of Remnant.

His education had been slightly lacking in some departments, as he focused more on things that would directly influence him and his life. Making a mental note for himself to pick up his studies again during his free time, Jaune focused his attention back towards the short woman named Scarlatina.

He tilted his head slightly at the questioning look she was giving him, as if she couldn't comprehend how he didn't know the name of Menagerie's leaders wife.

"I guess I just didn't pay attention if I was told in the past, who knows. Can you tell me where to find her, then?"

The heavy gaze of the rabbit Faunus didn't leave his back until he cleared the doorway of the hotel once more, his target having been located with far more ease than he was expecting.

Reaching into her pocket, the woman with the Scarlatina name-tag withdrew her Scroll and made a quick call the moment the tall blond was out of sight, only taking moments for her call to be answered. "Hey Georgie, it's Sylvie, from night shift? What's the scoop on the blond swordsman that was on the Black Pearl on this trip? No, he didn't threaten me, just checked into the hotel for a few days, now what do you know? Is he one of us?"

 **[SaS]**

Kali Belladonna had been humming to herself, dancing around her large kitchen as she worked on her husbands favorite dish when an out of breath guard rushed in and nearly collapsed to his knees before her.

Pulling her mittens from her hands, Kali addressed the man payed to guard her and her husband with his life with concern evident in her voice. "Citrine, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No, my lady, I thank you for your concern! I must ask, were you expecting a package from a man claiming to be from one Strife Delivery Service?" Citrine gulped down another lung-full of air, having ran from the main entrance of the Belladonna manor all the way towards the kitchen as quickly as he could.

It was, of course, to either confirm or deny the sword wielding maniac currently looking for his High Chieftain's wife in his efforts.

"Oh! Goodie, my books are here! Ghira is going to be _so_ happy!" Kali looked absolutely giddy upon hearing that the delivery boy from the SDS had finally arrived, having been waiting not so patiently for the last few days for its scheduled arrival. "Let me just turn the temp down on the oven and I'll be right down!"

Not trying to hide his nervousness what-so-ever, Citrine felt it prudent to argue her decision, even if it potentially got him fired. "Ma'am, I... don't think that's a good idea! The delivery boy... something about him isn't right! His eyes make my hair stand on end!"

"Oh that's just rude, Citrine! I'm sure there is absolutely nothing wrong with the boy, you are always so paranoid about everyone!" Kali didn't seem to want to listen to her bodyguard, "Here, come with me then, now I want to meet him just to say I told you so."

After making sure the kitchen was secure and the tuna casserole wasn't going to burn, the two set off towards the main entrance at a more subdued pace than Citrine had run in at. A minute or two later and the two stepped into the main foyer, which had become thick with tension in Citrine's absence.

Standing in the center of her foyer was a sight to behold.

"I'm not here for a fight, but if you try an' poke me with that stick _one more time_..." A tall blond dressed from head to toe in black with some silver accents looked positively livid, an obviously heavy brown parcel clutched tightly at his chest in a defensive manner.

Using her sharp eyesight to take in his figure better, Kali couldn't help but be both impressed and slightly intimidated by the tall blond with spiky hair. Upon his back was a plethora of swords, as if he had a different one for each day of the week, and each was easily larger and longer than either of her arms. She couldn't help but question his diverse taste in all that was a blade, as well as how he could possibly have a need to carry them all at once.

The mere fact he was able to carry so many weapons upon his back while appearing so casual about it spoke volumes of his strength, possibly putting him on par with her beloved Ghira as far as raw physical power went.

She bet his ass looked fabulous with that kind of constant work out if he went around carrying that many swords constantly.

His arms were lined with well defined muscle, obviously from wielding so many swords of varying sizes and shapes, and Kali was forced to resist the urge to imagine what he looked like beneath the stylish turtleneck vest he wore. She was deathly loyal to Ghira, but that didn't mean she wasn't allowed to have lewd thoughts.

She just tried to keep them to a minimum. Imagining everyone she saw naked was an old habit she developed during the early days of the White Fang when they were still a rag-tag traveling bunch of peacemongers. It was hard to entertain yourself with so many days spent walking in between secluded villages bearing minimal Faunus populations, even with such an endearing husband at your side nearly every day of the week.

He had a single pauldron upon his shoulder, styled in the motif of a wolf. Near his chest, there was another little wolves head, this one with a hoop in its mouth. Heavy black fabric covered his waist above wide, flowing pants of some sort of custom design, either leg of the pants rolled up and suspended with a belt so they didn't drag the ground when he walked. The last notable piece of clothing was the heavy boots upon his feet reinforced with metal plating, some wear and tear obvious to her even from a distance.

The last notable feature about the tall blond with gravity defying hair was his eyes. They were glowing a strange green color that was azure in some spots and a deep emerald in others, the light shining from within visible even during the day. His pupils were slit in a way that was feline, but at the same time, she got a very reptilian vibe from.

He must have been a Faunus, then, because no Human had eyes that primal, no matter what their Semblance may be.

Kali could very well see why Citrine was intimidated, having never really been exposed to an obviously powerful Huntsmen or Aura user. Hell, even with her own experience with exceptionally strong warriors, she still got the 'Don't Cross Me' feeling down her spine despite the some dozen foot gap between them.

Deciding it was better to step in before one of her body guards bit off more than they could chew, Kali addressed the tall blond with obvious cheer in her voice.

"Hey! You! Are you with Strife Delivery Service?" Kali questioned loudly, making sure she could be heard over the grumbling and threats of the many people gathered in the foyer aimed at the blond, "I've been expecting you for the past few days now, what happened to prompt delivery?"

"I apologize ma'am, the Black Pearl was attacked by a Sea Feilong, I believe it was called." The blond answered her question promptly and with no non-sense, a professional tone taking over his voice at once, "A few of the engines were blown and a portion of the ship had to be sealed off, making the trip pretty darn slow."

"Oh my goodness, the Sea Feilong? I'm glad you were able to get away from it, it's been haunting our seas for years now!" Kali was not expecting to hear that one of the only vessels going from Mistral to Menagerie was damaged so badly, knowing that it would damage the economy just as badly if it wasn't repaired post-haste.

Captain Black was one of the only people trusted by the higher ups of Menagerie to handle their goods and people without letting prejudice color his actions, and most of their trading was done in Mistral through his vessel as a result.

"Well, you won't have to worry about that one any more, it's skull is now a proud ornament of the Black Pearl." The courier was quick to dismiss her fears and it visibly brought her relief to hear, causing her to brighten back up in an instant. "I'm sure the ship with be as right as rain in a few days."

"Where are my manners, I'm so sorry... My name is Kali Belladonna, Matron of Kuo Kuana, It's nice to meet you Mister..." Kali trailed off, obviously fishing for a name.

"Jaune Arc, Strife Delivery Services, it's nice to meet you Miss Belladonna. I have a package here for you, if you wouldn't mind signing for retrieval?" Jaune extended the large parcel in her direction, clearly eager to have it out of his care so he could go about his business.

Giving him another once over, Kali suppressed a smirk and decided to delay him instead, a nefarious plan brewing in the back of her mind involving her daughter and a mysterious courier who went to the extremes to see his duties fulfilled.

Just like one of her favorite side characters from the Ninjas of Love series, Claude Strafe!

It was a thrilling story with _just_ the right amount of smut to keep her sitting on the edge of her seat in frustration and anticipation, filled with corporate espionage, love triangles, political intrigue and violence! What wasn't to love about it?

"Sure, sure, but only if you stay for dinner! We're having tuna casserole~!"

Jaune couldn't argue with that logic even if he tried.

 **[SaS]**

"Ghira, dear, our books are here! We also have a guest for dinner, come say hello!"

Ghira Belladonna heard the voice of his wife call out all the way in his office, causing him to do a little happy dance in his chair upon hearing the great news, completely ignoring the fact that he was currently in the middle of a video call with the High Leader of the White Fang, Sienna Khan.

" _It's hard to take you seriously when you do things like this, Ghira."_ The person on the other end of their call spoke with a disbelieving tone, unable to understand how such a man could have founded the White Fang with how goofy he acted sometimes when alone. _"I can call back in an hour, I'll have a better idea on our situation_ _by then I'm sure_ _."_

"Oh hush, Sienna, you'd be doing a happy dance too if you just found out an unreleased Ninjas of Love, _signed by the author_ , just arrived at your doorstep. Excuuuuse me." Ghira defended himself from the fiery womans snarky attitude, not letting her words detract from his now great mood. "I'll ask Kali if she's heard anything about who killed the Sea Feilong, she's more in tune with gossip than I'll ever be. Hopefully she'll find the video floating around as well."

" _And when you find him?"_ Sienna seemed hesitant to address the man who recently killed their resident nuisance, the sea dragon having sunk dozens of fishing boats and transport ships over the past few years.

Only the largest of ships had been capable of treading the waters safely, and even then they had to be heavily armed to ensure the safety of the passengers aboard.

"I'll ask for his help, obviously." The large man with thick facial hair responded without having to think about it, as if his answer was as obvious as he said it was.

The two had been discussing the damage to Captain Black's vessel and the ramifications it would have, especially with their best team of Huntsmen now either missing or heavily wounded. They had been expecting the ship back for almost three days now, specifically the group of four that represented the best four academy trained Huntsmen loyal to Kuo Kuana.

The White Fang were not the only armed forces of the island nation, though they far outnumbered the Huntsmen and Huntresses who reported to Ghira as High Chieftain. With their best hopes dead and wounded at the hands of the Sea Feilong, Kuo Kuana was in a tight spot as the Grimm incursions from the desert to the east were getting worse by the day.

They were losing people left and right holding them off, and most of their Huntsmen and Huntresses lay wounded in the hospital recovering while those in the White Fang without Aura proved less fortunate. It was turning into a bloodbath, and Ghira was only a few days away from being forced to deal with the issue himself, even if it cost him his life.

There was a good reason that the island now named Menagerie hadn't been settled in the past, as the Grimm that roamed the lands were far more dangerous than those near Atlas, Vale and Mistral alike. The only other nation that had it nearly as bad as Menagerie when it came to the native Grimm population was Vacuo, and that was merely due to their location being near a dried up oasis in the middle of a vast desert.

Sienna and Ghira had been working nonstop to keep information from leaking to the public on the off chance of causing a panic. With the Black Pearl having returned damaged after an attack by their dreaded local sea dragon and their remaining ground forces spread thin, it was only a matter of time before the negative emotions started attracting the worst of the Grimm to the village should word start spreading too.

" _What would we have to give for his help, though?"_ Sienna questioned softly after a few moments of silence, a pensive expression upon her face on the display.

Despite her violent methods to achieve Faunus equality, she did not approach every situation in life with guns blazing. Sometimes, diplomacy was needed, especially when asking a foreigner for help with issues of vital national security.

"I'd give anything to keep Kuo Kuana safe." Ghira left no room for misinterpreting his words, making it clear that no price was off the table when he found the man rumored to have slain the Sea Feilong. "If he could kill _that_ beast, then maybe he can kill another."

Sienna said nothing, instead nodding her head as if she agreed with him before their call abruptly ended.

Leaning back in his seat, Ghira Belladonna allowed his call screen to close, bringing his large Scroll back to its home screen, which showed the image of Kali, Blake and himself all smiling for the camera with the large village they all called home in the backdrop.

"Let's hope you are a reasonable man, stranger."


	5. A Garden of Nightshades

**Struggle and Strife**

 _Chapter 5, A Garden of Nightshades_

I do not own anything pertaining to the RWBY universe, or Final Fantasy. No stocks, no stakes in RT or SE, nothing. Don't even own any merchandise.

 **[SaS]**

Jaune Arc couldn't help but be slightly trepeditious as he followed behind the older woman with short, black hair and feline ears resting atop her head. Something about her had put him on edge, though not quite the same way Raven Branwen had.

She wore an outfit that reminded him of something, or perhaps someone, though he couldn't quite place it and that bothered him. His memory wasn't the best, but it certainly wasn't the worst.

White robes covered her chest while a black top was worn over said robes, covering only her right arm with a long sleeve while her left remained bare, clasped together at her throat with a golden flowery medal of sorts. A long, black skirt that looked similar to Hakama pants covered her lower body, with a slit on either hip displaying a bit of her tucked in white robe and the flesh of her outer thigh. The sandal-styled heels she wore certainly matched the rest of her outfit, giving her a traditional yet modern look that was as stylish as it was functional.

Her invitation to attend dinner with herself and her husband, whom Jaune knew to be the High Chieftain of Menagerie, was wholly unexpected. The look she had given him before she extended the invitation was like what one would see on a cat that had finally caught the canary, and that she entirely intended to eat said bird after playing with it.

He had come to expect distrust by his clients, with only three so far being even somewhat hospitable to him upon completing his deliveries. Most were dismissive and some were almost hostile, especially when they got a good look at his weaponry and eyes.

Due to the nature of his Magic and Aura, it was difficult to completely suppress his energy levels, and somehow the native population of Remnant found that offensive to their senses. He couldn't really blame them, as he knew that during his days of traveling with AVALANCHE, Sephiroth's presence had been just as suffocating.

Only those who had grown to experience high levels of conflict and stress seemed even somewhat at ease in his presence, as they were the most likely to be desensitized to stronger feelings of danger.

Kali Belladonna's ease of speaking with him and her ability to turn her back to him as she lead him through the halls of her home indicated a past that wasn't wholly peaceful, and that she felt like she could hold her own.

Jaune did his best to keep his eyes from the sway of her hips as she walked, but the former terrorist was hard pressed to ignore the sight completely. He narrowed his gaze and snapped his attention forward once more, knowing that she was most likely doing it on purpose.

'Is this a test?'

If it was, it was of his will power most likely if Jaune had to hazard a guess.

Kali sent him a fleeting glance over her shoulder and smirked when he was able to instantly make eye contact with her, confirming his suspicions on the purposeful sway of her hips.

 _'What is she playing at here?'_

Deciding to keep his questions to himself, Jaune instead found his gaze wandering a bit further towards the many decorations lining the halls of Kali Belladonna's home. There were picture frames hanging upon the walls as they passed, and Jaune was able to get a better idea on his clients home life through observing them.

Her husband, if Jaune had to hazard a guess as to the identity of the only male figure in Kali's photographs, was a very large man with a thick beard and eyes the same shade of amber as his wife. His hair was slicked back and neatly trimmed, giving him a more sophisticated look than his hairy appearance would have had otherwise. Had Jaune not known any better, he would have assumed that Miss Kali and the male in the photo's were siblings and not lovers.

There was another person that belonged to their family as well, as there was a young teenager in one of the last photographs lining the hall just before what appeared to be the dinning room. Her appearance was much like her mother, dressing in black and white with only a deep shade of purple to accent her otherwise monochromatic apparel.

It was obvious the young girl inherited her mothers features far more than her fathers, though the daughters ears were noticeably smaller than Kali's were and lacked her mothers piercings as well. The picture was of Kali, her husband and what appeared to be her daughter standing proudly with Kuo Kuana in the backdrop.

The final photograph lining the hallway, surrounded by an ornate wooden frame carved from tropical wood, was of a rather short and _angry_ looking individual with a mocha colored skin tone and burning amber eyes. She was scowling in the picture, with Kali, her daughter and another male that Jaune had never seen before with red and brown hair and a white mask covering his eyes.

 _'Hm... have I seen these people somewhere before?'_

Jaune wanted to say they were at one point in the town of Amarilla fifteen miles outside of the Arc compound some few years back, but he couldn't be sure and thus kept his questions to himself.

The smell of what he assumed was Kali's tuna casserole grew stronger and stronger the longer the three walked, and the tall blond had to grip his stomach lightly with his left hand in order to silence it before it could growl in anticipation.

Apparently it didn't work, as a low roar slowly echoed out in the hallway emanating outwards from his body, causing the twice lived blond to turn his gaze downwards in either embarrassment or light shame.

"Oh my, did you hide a Grimm in your stomach or are you that hungry?" Kali seemed more amused by the noise than Jaune was by far, her lips curling into a grin as she turned her head to speak once more, "I'm glad I invited you in, it would have been rude to turn away a guest without feeding them, especially when they've gone out of their way to make me one happy cat!"

"I appreciate it, ma'am, food was tight on the Black Pearl after the attack," Jaune admitted while raising his head slightly to once more glance in his host's direction, "I can pay you back if you'd like."

Let it be known that Jaune Arc was not someone who incurred a debt without paying it back, a trait he had retained from his previous life.

"Nonsense, a bit of fish and some veggies is a small price to pay for these babies," Kali paused her speaking for a moment to pat the large parcel held under her arm affectionately, "Especially when they could have been lying at the bottom of the Menagerian Sea! Whenever I find the person who killed the Sea Feilong, they are going to get the biggest hug a married woman can give!"

"That won't be necessary," The swordsman attempted to downplay the situation, as it was hardly noteworthy in his opinion, "I should have killed it sooner than I did, people were hurt due to my inaction."

Had he not waited until the first explosion rang out to confront the large Grimm instead of allowing the team of Hunters to do their jobs, two people wouldn't be lost at sea and the other two wouldn't be laid up in the hospital healing from their wounds. While it certainly wasn't his _job_ to kill Grimm, it was his _duty_ as an Arc to destroy the enemies of Man, wherever and whomever they might be.

A duty he had tried to shirk in an effort to relax in luxury.

"What do you mean? Are _you_ the one who killed that beast?" Kali pursed her lips and furrowed her brows lightly at his admission, as if she didn't comprehend his words, "Are you Huntsman trained, then?"

"It picked the wrong ship to attack, couldn't just let it kill everyone on board by sinking us." Jaune shrugged lightly and didn't attempt to elaborate, though his expression was more guarded than before if such a thing were even possible. "No hugs necessary, ma'am."

Let it be known that Jaune Arc did not go about hugging people willy nilly, let alone married women. He was _not_ a touchy person and hadn't been in a long time, unless it was someone playing with his hair.

 **[SaS]**

Kali Belladonna allowed her mind to race a mile a minute as she led the tall blond further into her home with Citrine sticking close to her side. She had thought to dismiss the man after it became clear that her current guest wasn't going to be a threat, but allowed him to stay as if to rub it in his face that the delivery boy, Jaune Arc, was indeed a nice person.

He looked like a blank canvas, no inflection or spark of emotion dwelling on the surface of his face or body to betray his inner thoughts. It was only thanks to her years in service of the previous White Fang, very much unlike its current iteration, that she was able to pinpoint even a shred of emotion within his dual colored eyes.

What kind of delivery service did he work for, anyway? He carried himself more like a soldier on leave than a youthful courier just starting his career.

If Kali didn't know any better, she would have thought him to be a high ranking Fang member, but she knew the names and faces of almost every higher up of the organization and Jaune Arc was no White Fang operative.

He certainly was no Atlesian either, as his hair, while a pale blond in color, did not reflect the snowy country or their propensity towards the color white going by his all black clothing. Judging by his accent, Kali would have assumed him a Mistraili, but his voice held a certain twang to it that she couldn't place.

She was sure a few well placed questions would put any of her concerns at ease, as her motherly instinct had been honed by years of active usage, as was her ability in soft interrogation.

The group of three finally made it to their destination and Kali was quick to open the doors leading to what appeared to be a large dinning room, the smell of tuna casserole growing in strength tremendously afterwards.

The older woman was quick to usher the blond in, but reached an arm out to rest upon her guards chest when he motioned to follow as well.

"Now why not be a dear and help me set the table, hm?" Kali questioned over her shoulder with a strange smile on her face, "I could use your long arms to reach a few dishes Ghira likes to put on the top shelf, my grouch of a husband still hasn't come out of his office. You may return to your post, Citrine, we'll be fine."

Her guard looked as if he would argue his point once more but instead sighed and saluted the black haired feline with a fist clasped over his heart. Turning on his heel, Citrine marched back down the hall in the direction they had come from.

"Sure thing, ma'am." Jaune agreed easily enough after a few moments of hesitation, having watched the guard leave with a slightly suspicious look on his face, "Do you mind if I set my weapons down? I'd hate to knock into anything by accident."

How considerate of him. Usually, Huntsmen and Huntresses were loathe to part with their weapons, even within the comfort of their own homes. To see him so willing to set them aside for better mobility within her kitchen and from a glance, her peace of mind as well, made her feel that much more at ease in his presence.

Tearing herself away from her musings, Kali gestured to a spot on the ground by where they would be sitting to eat, and her guest took that as an invitation to do as he had asked. Removing the large holster containing his blades from his back, the younger blond followed behind the Matron of Kuo Kuana into a well furnished kitchen that smelled like a fresh slice of heaven on Remnant, unaware of the thoughts racing through her head.

"That smells delicious, just like Yuffie used to make..." Jaune mumbled under his breath, almost unaware that his thoughts had passed his lips to enter the physical world, as he quickly sealed his mouth shut afterwards.

Kali perked up after hearing the name 'Yuffie' but didn't comment, instead narrowing her eyes even further before she pursed her lips in thought. Soon, however, her eyes seemed to light up in wonder and then her lips stretched into an all too knowing smile, fangs and all.

"So, is Yuffie you're girlfriend, then?" Kali was quick to retrieve the casserole dish from her oven after covering her hands with mitts.

"No, I... just, no." Jaune seemed like he would elaborate for a moment, but he grimaced and shook his head in the negative instead, his face once more trying to remain schooled in a blank expression, "Which dishes did you need me to get for you, ma'am?"

He was trying to deflect, then. It was a common tactic to use when one didn't feel like answering questions, or when one was uncomfortable with said line of questioning.

So the subject of his love life was an uncomfortable one, then? Giving him another glance, Kali couldn't help but feel he wasn't exactly the romantic type. That did not bode well for her chances of getting her daughter Blake to find someone better to chase after than that pig headed brat Adam Taurus she was so smitten with.

She was going to have to up her game, then.

"Top shelf, next to the fridge, dear. So, do you _have_ a girlfriend then, or... do you perhaps fancy the company of young men like yourself?" Kali had waited until the dishes she had requested he retrieve were placed on the counter before she finished her question, as it wouldn't be good if he dropped them in shock or revolt.

Instead of acting in either, the young blond once more shook his head in the negative and instead shot her an inquisitive look over his shoulder before turning to face her fully. "Pardon me, ma'am?"

"Relax, I'm just trying to get to know you better is all. So, are you single, or...?" Kali easily continued her string of questions while grabbing the plates Jaune had retrieved before starting the process of divvying up her casserole on four plates, "My daughter could use someone else in her life than that little punk she's been chasing after and you seem like a nice fellow, if a little too up tight for someone so young."

"I'm hardly in one place long enough to form any meaningful relationships, Miss Belladonna." Jaune spoke with something akin to sadness in his voice, his gaze turning downward towards the floor all the while, "Perhaps in a few years I'll consider it, but right now my work comes first."

Kali gave the young man a small, rueful smile before she stepped forward and bumped her hip against his, "It's not like I'm saying sweep her off her feet, but you both seem to have similar personalities so why not try to make friends while your here? It'll be at least a week before the Black Pearl will be fixed anyway, so you have plenty of time!"

When she phrased it like that, it was hard for her guest to argue against her irrefutable logic. Either that, or he did what every good man did when faced with an insisting woman and just agreed to save himself the trouble.

 _'Just say yes dang it! I want some super strong blond grandbabies!'_

 **[SaS]**

If there was one thing Blake Belladonna was in that moment, it was _tired_ Bone tired, if she were completely honest with herself. She was grateful to be home, temporary as her return was, but Menagerie had changed a lot in her two years away and she almost found herself getting lost along the winding paths until eventually stumbling onto the main road.

Her father had been smart to take advantage of the better deals Vale and Vacuo had offered in the more recent years as Faunus acceptance within the Human Kingdoms grew stronger amongst their populations. The influx of prepared metals and pre-cured lumber had been much needed in creating new housing for the still growing population of Kuo Kuana instead of the huts most of them had been forced into when they first touched down in Menagerie.

It was a welcome change and it seemed her home town was shaping up to rival the four Kingdoms in the future, should it continue with the same rate of growth. Adam had even commented positively in light of seeing Kuo Kuana for the first time in years after they had begun their international operations within the White Fang.

She and her partner, Adam Taurus, had been recalled by Sienna Khan a month prior after the spike in Grimm activity in Menagerie grew to an almost unmanageable level for their local Huntsmen and Huntresses to handle alone. The White Fang, while an international organization, was mostly based out of Menagerie and owed their loyalty to both Sienna Khan as their High Leader and Ghira Belladonna as their High Chieftain.

For that reason, the two were forced to scrap their plans to attack a shipment of Dust moving through Forever Falls and instead return to Menagerie post-haste.

Blake was silently grateful for the reprieve in missions, even if she did have to return to her parents after leaving on such a sour note years after the fact. She was seventeen now, however, and was considered an adult in the eyes of Remnant, so she was no longer beheld to the same rules she would have been when she was fifteen.

It had been a difficult time in her life, and things did not get better for her since then like she would have hoped. Instead, her partner continued to descend further and further into madness, going as far as mocking innocent civilians who had nothing to do with their mission, sometimes even lashing out at them. She feared that sooner or later, he was going to cross a line with her, and then...

Then she'd have nowhere else to run, because she had already fled her home to be with him. Her plan was to give him one more chance during their next mission to change his ways, which had been to steal the large shipment of Dust moving through Forever Falls into Vale on the continent of Sanus.

This past month battling Grimm almost non-stop just outside of Kuo Kuana near the base of the mountain range, where the ruins of an ancient city lay, had hardly tempered Adam's anger any. The White Fang had lost a lot of good men and women in the effort of holding back the beowulf-like reptilian Grimm the natives of Menagerie called Levi-Creeps.

Recently, a forward expedition by a group of researchers from Kuo Kuana had tried to go spelunking in the ruins of the ancient city to the south of Kuo Kuana, which the natives had considered cursed since they discovered it some twenty years prior. It was this group of researchers who broke one of the large stone walls surrounding the crumbling ruins by accidentally leaning too heavily on a support column that no longer had mortar surrounding it to keep it in place during the recording of their discoveries.

That was when the Grimm lurking within the ruins descended upon the group like the ravenous beasts they were.

The Levi-creeps were much like the Leviathan Grimm that haunt the coasts of Atlas to the far north of Remnant, only much smaller and more prone to travel in packs, and having a more crocodile-like head than dolphin.

Blake had experienced her fair share of close calls with the beasts, and it was only with close cooperation and quick reaction timing that she and Adam were able to kill a small group of three that had chosen to target them during one of their more... intimate moments in the woods.

Ever since getting caught with her pants down, Blake had taken extra precaution in keeping her guard up at nearly all times, especially when she felt like she was safe to drop it. Thinking she was safe was the very reason she now bore three large scars across her back where one of the Levi-creeps had nearly severed her spine.

She was lucky that the White Fang had such a heavy presence in the area, as she was quickly able to make it to a proper medic before her wounds finally caught up with her thanks to Adam. Blake was more than thankful the Aura specialists did not question her obvious lack of modesty and instead focused on making sure her spine was not severed or broken in any way.

It was the first time in Blake's life that she prayed, because she wasn't ready to face a life without the ability to walk. The position of the damage was near her lower back, below where it would have destroyed her ability to use her arms as well, thankfully.

That had been two weeks ago, and since then she was stuck on light duties around the White Fang compound for her daily shifts while Adam was stuck on the front lines. While Blake had tried to argue with Sienna about being relegated to grunt work, the fiery woman had quickly shut down her arguments and even threatened her with a months leave from work if she didn't accept the temporary demotion without backtalk.

So Blake Belladonna did what she did best, throw herself into her work until she felt like her eyes were bleeding from reading too many shipment logs and her fingers broken from dragging around weapon crates.

Considering just how short handed the White Fang had become since the expedition crew had destroyed the walls of the Levi Crawler's nest, there was _always_ work to be done.

Biting back the urge to groan and ignoring the obvious strain she felt in her legs, Blake pushed open the doors of her parents manor and waved lazily at the guards who greeted her. She didn't bother speaking to them, and neither did they waste their breaths, instead allowing her to pass them without fuss or challenge.

One, however, decided it was worth speaking up and breaking the silence as she entered the long hallway of the manor. "Miss Blake? May I have a word?"

Blake paused long enough to turn her head and acknowledge the guard, a man named Citrus or something like that. He was one of his fathers favorites, so Blake figured she could humor the man for a moment. "Sure, what is it?"

"Er, forgive me for putting my nose where it doesn't belong but... well..." The Citrus man seemed hesitant at first, gripping at the red cape that rested upon his shoulders in a display of nervousness, "You're mother currently has a guest, named Jaune Arc. Could you keep an eye on him for me?"

"Mom has a guest? And it's a guy?" Blake questioned with a tilted brow, wondering just who it was that could be visiting her mother specifically and not her father, "Why do you need me to keep an eye on him?"

She wasn't going to say that she planned on it anyway, as she didn't know of her mother having any guy friends to speak of outside of those already known to her father.

"He... makes me nervous, like I'm some kind of lamb and he's a hungry wolf waiting to eat me!" The guard seemed incredibly flustered, once more tugging at his cape, "Something about him just puts me on edge. He's _dangerous_."

"Considering you're a sheep Faunus, I'm not really surprised a wolf Faunus would intimidate you." Blake felt the need to point out, causing the curly haired man to recoil slightly at the accusation, "I'm not being a racist, just stating facts."

"The Hanson test hardly proves that every sheep Faunus has an ingrained fear of predatory Faunus, that's preposterous!" The man named after a type of fruits was once more defending himself hotly, clearly passionate about his beliefs, even if Blake knew he was full of himself.

"Whatever, I really don't care. I'll keep an eye on mom's guest, don't worry." Blake quickly lost interest in the conversation as the smell of tuna casserole reached her nose and the sound of her mothers laughter reached her ears. "Bye Orange or whatever your name is."

The guard sputtered at his clear dismissal but did not try to reengage their conversation, allowing the black haired Faunus clad in monochrome clothing to walk down the hallway quickly to figure out what her mom was giggling like a school girl at.

She knew that giggle all too well, as it was the same giggle Blake had when reading a new chapter of Ninjas of Love that was particularly spicy.

Coming to a rest outside of the dinning room, the daughter of Kali and Ghira Belladonna was clearly able to make out the voice of a male, one that did _not_ belong to her father. Glancing down the hallway a bit further, Blake was able to see the light on in her fathers study, indicating that Ghira was still likely sitting at his desk working his fingers to the bone.

Clearing her throat loudly, Blake pushed the doors of the dinning room open and slowly limped through the doorway, catching the eyes of both occupants of the room instantly.

Glancing at her mom quickly to confirm that she was still decent and not having an affair on her husband, Blake was relieved to find the woman still fully clothed, with a far too pleased expression upon her face to bode anyone within their home well. Narrowing her eyes at the image, Blake snapped her gaze towards the male occupant of the room and almost had to take a step back as deep amber honed in on slitted, bi-toned eyes of glowing emeralds and sapphires.

"Blake! You're finally home! I've got great news, our books finally arrived!" Kali cheered happily at seeing her daughter walk through the door at seemingly the perfect time, her plate having just been set at the table for dinner.

"Mom... who is this?" Blake swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, ignoring the way her legs wobbled weakly as she tried and failed to tear her gaze away from the most beautiful pair of eyes she had ever seen in her life.

Kali's pleased expression grew more pronounced and her lips visibly parted to reveal a fanged smile.

"Blake, meet Jaune Arc, Courier for Strife Delivery Services. Jaune, meet my wonderful and kind and loving daughter, Blake Belladonna!" Like before, Kali seemed ever so excited to try and break through Jaune's protests by making sure there was no way the boy could _not_ introduce himself to her daughter.

It was even better when said daughter actually asked for an introduction, as she usually would have just ignored any guests her parents might have had upon checking in for the day before retiring to her room to rest.

"It's nice to meet you, young Miss Belladonna." The tall blond nodded politely in Blake's direction, his face carefully blank as he did so. "Your mother speaks highly of you."

His eyes remained locked with hers the entire time, not once breaking away to rove her body like so many men tended to do. It spoke of restraint, in the very least, if not some meager respect for women.

Jaune's words were carefully diplomatic and without any sort of personal opinions, instead polite to the letter.

He was obviously close to her age, his skin being tight with youth and plenty healthy from what she could tell, so his manner of speech was a bit odd to her. Was he some sort of diplomat, then? Why would a simple courier even be at her families dinner table with her mother, anyway?

Blake took a look past the man at his weapons leaning against the walls, once more swallowing the lump that formed in her throat upon seeing just how large the many blades were.

What kind of fighting style did this courier have if he needed that many swords? Judging by their size, they each must weigh quite a bit, and a brief glance at the blonds arms confirmed that he certainly had the muscles that constant usage of swords would build in abundance.

"Yeah, it's... nice to meet you too, Mister Arc." Blake felt the need to respond in kind, refraining from addressing him personally and remaining mostly professional as well. "Are you having dinner with us, then?"

"He is, so be a dear and go get your father so we can eat." Kali was quick to try and usher her away, her eyes flicking in Jaune's direction while narrowing slightly, as if he had displeased her in some way.

Knowing that the tall blond was about to get some form of tongue lashing, as Blake knew that look in her mothers eyes too well, the young feline Faunus fled the room as quickly as her injured back would let her to give the two their space for a moment.

She couldn't help but limp slow enough to hear what her mother had to say about the sword wielding delivery boy.

" _You're supposed to try and make friends with her, Jaune! I thought you said you'd play along!"_ Kali Belladonna's voice was easily able to be heard in the hall, despite Blake having closed the doors to the dinning room thanks to her enhanced hearing.

She sounded playfully angry and not truly upset, something that caused the younger woman to relax slightly in her eavesdropping. Had the blond truly done something to upset her mother, Blake would have made it her life mission to return the favor tenfold.

" _I never agreed to your shenanigans, ma'am, just dinner."_ Jaune responded rather monotonously, his voice holding little real inflection to it though there seemed to be a dash of amusement hidden in the inflection of his words.

He seemed like a very serious person with little room for humor, which was a refreshing change of pace compared to most people their age she had bothered speaking with in the past. Unlike Adam, however, this Jaune character seemed very much in control of his emotions, so much so that he kept them hidden from sight completely.

So that was her moms plan, was it? To try and make her associate with someone outside of the White Fang? Blake suppressed her scoff, instead picking up her pace to retrieve her father from his study.

"The sooner we finish dinner then, the sooner you can leave, Mister Arc."

Then she can go back to her daily struggles of trying to find the goodness in Adam Taurus and he can go back to whatever it was the courier dressed in black did with his boring life. Just like fate intended.


	6. The Bane of a Hero (Side Quests)

**Struggle and Strife**

 _Chapter 6, The Bane of a Hero (Side Quests)_

I do not own anything pertaining to the RWBY universe, or Final Fantasy. No stocks, no stakes in RT or SE, nothing. Don't even own any merchandise.

 **[SaS]**

Jaune had come to expect, after meeting Kali's daughter briefly, that dinner with the Belladonna family was to be a sordid affair of sorts. Perhaps it was undue to call the woman sleazy, but the look Kali had been giving him since his refusal to play along with her games were downright _dirty_.

It got to the point that he felt a trickle of sweat pooling at his brow from the stress he was now feeling from her gaze.

 _'What is with this woman?'_

Was Jaune playing nice with her daughter really so important to her that she'd give him the _disappointed mother_ look?

It was one of Jaune's hidden weaknesses in either of his lives, his mothers both playing a crucial role in his life when either of his fathers had failed in their duties. Julius was a much better father than Jaune had back on Gaia, as he hadn't actually had a father figure before being born on Remnant.

He couldn't exactly be blamed for being closer with his sisters and mother now that he was part of the Arc family, especially with his fathers not entirely incorrect insistence that he was an Alien.

"Fine, _fine_ , I'll... play nice with your daughter, just... stop looking at me like that. Please." Jaune finally broke, knowing that Blake and Kali's husband were now returning from what Jaune assumed was his study. "You look like I just got caught with my hands in the cookie jar, and I haven't done anything."

"Great! I knew you'd see things my way!" Kali was all too smug for Jaune's liking, causing him to narrow his eyes in her direction in a small display of petulance, "Oh don't look at me like that, I'm sure you two will get along splendidly! Just give her a chance!"

"She looks to be my age, Miss Belladonna, which means she's more than capable of making friends of her own accord. Why take special interest?" Jaune felt the need to ask, as it was more than a bit strange for someones mother to go out of their way to befriend her child with another person, especially when it seems to be against their will.

If Blake didn't want to make friends, that was a personal problem. One that did not involve Jaune and his insatiable wanderlust that he attempted to curb with his business.

"Blakey is so... well, she takes life far too seriously sometimes, and-, we'll talk after dinner, please stick around for just a bit longer afterwards." Kali no longer looked smug, instead a look of defeat crossing her beautiful face for all of a moment before it was concealed behind a smile. "I'm sure my husband will want to speak to you, killing the Sea Feilong and all."

It made her appear so much older than before, and the sight made Jaune's heart clench tightly in his chest.

He knew that look on her face all too well, having worn it many times in his two chances at life. It was only when he was at his weakest moments did it ever show, when he couldn't quite figure out how to proceed in life with so much resting on his shoulders.

The sound of the dinning room door being opened once more drew Jaune from the thoughts that swirled through his head almost quicker than he could fathom, forcing him to send his gaze towards the entryway rather than linger upon a claimed woman in a speculative fashion.

It wouldn't do to give Miss Belladonna's daughter and husband the wrong impression, and lingering gazes were sure to bring many misgivings.

The first person to step into the dinning room was a behemoth of a man, easily as large, if not larger, than Barret Wallace had been when Jaune had first met him in Midgar. The mans appearance was as well kept as in his photograph, though there were heavy bags beneath his eyes that noted a lack of sleep in recent days.

Unlike his wife and daughter, the man wore a large, purple coat of sorts with a fur lined collar and a singular sleeve to cover his right arm. A metal sort of belt covered his otherwise bare chest around his stomach region, while a large patch of hair was left to peruse with the eye due to his somewhat lacking modesty in garment. Khaki pants, which looked hideous, were tucked into tall, black boots, finishing off his somewhat odd choice of clothing.

He looked like he let his mother still pick his clothing due to how terrible his outfit clashed, if Jaune were to be honest, though he quickly quelled his inner fashioner left over from his horrid time at Wall Market.

Now was _not_ the time to reminisce on those dark days.

"Oh, hello there. You must be my wife's guest." The man spoke after blinking twice after giving Jaune a once over, as if to confirm what he was seeing, "I wasn't aware she was acquainted to such a young Huntsman."

Jaune knew a nonverbal queue to introduce oneself when he saw it, and immediately stood and offered his hand for the man to take. "Jaune Arc, Strife Delivery Service. I'm no Huntsman, sir, just a delivery boy."

The man seemed taken aback for a moment, glancing at his weapons and then back to Jaune as if to question his narrative.

"Ghira Belladonna, High Chieftain of Menagerie and Co-founder of the White Fang." The large man, now known to Jaune as Ghira, introduced himself while taking the offered hand with what he assumed would be a crushing grip.

The fact that Jaune did not bat a lash at the heavy grip the man forced onto his hand seemed to placate him a bit, especially when the only slightly shorter blond did not issue a challenge in the form of doing the same.

Jaune had long since been aware that challenging a man in his own home was foolish at best, especially when he was trying to make a good impression.

Perhaps it was only thanks to the knowledge gleaned from political training afforded to all SOLDIER First Classes that he was even aware of such things, as it certainly wasn't something he picked up during his days on the run with AVALANCHE. If came from Zack's or Sephiroth's minds, he couldn't be sure which, however.

"It's nice to meet you, Sir. You have a beautiful home and family, I admit I'm a bit out of my depth here." Jaune admitted freely, feeling every bit out of place as he probably looked with his pale hair and shinning eyes. "I appreciate the hospitality, especially after the last few days I've had."

"I see. Were you aboard the Black Pearl, then? I admit I don't think I've ever seen you before, and I try to make it a habit to know my citizens." Ghira's eyes had narrowed slightly in thought as he took his seat at the head of the table the four plates of tuna casserole had been placed at, "If so, I have a few questions I'd like to ask if you don't mind."

Seeing as the head of the house had yet to start eating, Jaune refrained from digging into the delicious smelling meal as he sat himself back down in the seat Kali had gestured for him to take.

His daughter had slid into her place at the table two spaces to Jaune's right, forcing the two to sit in close proximity to one another and across from the elder couple. It wasn't hard to see that Kali was rather experienced in her wily ways of motherly manipulation.

"I don't mind, sir," Jaune affirmed with a slight incline of his brow, unsure of why the man would feel the need to ask such questions, "I'll answer as best I can."

It would be an easy subject to talk about over a meal, as there was little room for a dive into the political realm from the topic of his time aboard the Black Pearl. His gut told him, however, that there was some kind of motive behind the mans questions and not just idle interest.

"Thank you..." Ghira trailed off for a moment to pick up his eating utensil to take a bite of his meal, nearly melting in his seat visibly as he did so, "Kali, dear, you just keep getting better and better at making this dish and I'll have to take you out on a third honeymoon."

"Oh my, it looks like I'll have to try extra hard on the next batch then!~" Kali gave Ghira a sultry smile and a small wiggle of her brows, implying that she would obviously be pleased with such an event, "Jaune, you mentioned that you had a friend that had a recipe that smelled similar? Perhaps you could give me a few tips while you're in town, I need a good vacation and that sounds like the golden ticket to me."

"Sure, but only if you teach me how you made this dish," Jaune finally reached for his fork to take a bite as well, having waited for the head of the household to eat first as was custom with his own family, "It's one of the best tuna dishes I've ever had, but I think I could give you a few pointers to kick it up a notch."

There was a momentary laps in conversation as the four started to eat, not entirely awkward and short lived in nature.

 **[SaS]**

Ghira Belladonna wasn't quite sure what to make of the rather tall blond currently sitting at his dinner table dressed in what he could only assume was some form of elaborate bikers gear with close quarters combat kept in mind during its design.

His clothing was as elaborate as his weaponry, the plethora of large swords resting against the wall just behind the obviously young man.

His claim to work for a company calling itself 'Strife Delivery Service' was rather odd as well, as Ghira was unsure of what sort of message he was supposed to receive from that name. Did Jaune deliver strife, or conflict, then? Perhaps he was a mercenary?

Deciding it was as good of a place to start his questions as any, Ghira finally paused his eating for a moment to capture the attention of the obviously hungry blond as he continued to eat as quickly as he could while remaining polite about it.

"So, you say you work for a company called Strife Delivery Service, was it?" Ghira broke the silence easily enough after dabbing his mouth with a large, cloth napkin that his eating utensils had been placed atop of, "What sort of business is it, if you don't mind me asking? The name is certainly..."

Jaune set his fork down and wiped his mouth before answering, making sure he wasn't speaking with food in his mouth when he did so. "I do mostly international package and letter deliveries, mostly to villages and settlements that are usually too far outside of the Kingdom for Scroll reception to reach. And the name... well."

Like Ghira, Jaune trailed off as well, an emotion dancing across his face in that moment that the Belladonna patriarch couldn't quite place. When the blond didn't further elaborate, Ghira decided to move on with his questioning rather than dwelling on something as simple as a name.

"Do you do other types of jobs as well within your company? You seem rather... well armed, for a simple courier." Ghira pointed out not impolitely, guiding the conversation into territory that was all too familiar to the former Chocobo breeder, "I find it strange that you also have so many, as most only choose one particular weapon when learning to fight, two at the most."

"I'm capable of holding my own," Jaune shrugged lightly, not taking the opportunity to brag like so many others would have when posed with such curiosity about their capabilities, "Have to be, I spend more time in the wild than I do in civilization and I'd hate to be Grimm chow."

He answered Ghira's questions, but not elaborately enough to get a good read on just how far his words extended. If he indeed spent more time in the wild than not, then he most certainly must have experience in dealing with Grimm, and his weapons certainly had the visible wear Ghira would come to expect with heavy usage.

The enhanced eyesight that all Faunus had afforded him a better view of the swords than a Human might have had, revealing scratches and small fissures that might have been otherwise imperceptible. It spoke well to Ghira's hopes that the young man might have been the one responsible for slaying the Sea Feilong, though the man felt perhaps that would be too easy for him for the fates to allow, given how much of a nightmare they had made his past month.

"I see... and just how good with those swords are you?" Ghira laced his fingers before his face and leaned forward on his elbows, clearly falling into a comfortable pose that afforded him an air of seriousness.

Jaune sat up a bit straighter as he payed closer attention than before, almost like a soldier listening to a commanding officer while at rest. The blonds bi-tone gaze sharpened and Ghira could almost swear his eyes glowed even brighter than before as a result, though it could have been just his imagination.

It wasn't exactly every day that Ghira met a man with glowing eyes outside of those with particularly powerful Aura and Semblance's, and it was obvious to the High Chieftain of Kuo Kuana that this Jaune Arc character had Aura in spades.

It was so potent as to fill the room with its presence, stifling Ghira's almost as soon as the man stepped into the dinning room, though his guest acted as if he were unaware of how much energy was constantly bleeding from his body.

"It depends on how good I need to be," Jaune answered slowly, as if mulling his words over twice before speaking, "And how much of a reason I'm given to use them. I am not a violent person at heart."

The was some relief in Ghira's eyes upon hearing that, as it allayed at least a small portion of his fear, though yet again he was left wanting in the form of any real tangible answers to his many questions.

"And against Grimm?" Ghira was finally getting to the heart of the reason behind his string of questions, seeing a strong warrior in the blond that could be of potential use in helping quell the surge of Grimm nipping away at their numbers, "We have found ourselves rather short handed here in Kuo Kuana as of late, and we could use all the help we can get. I was hoping to perhaps purchase your services, if you find the idea agreeable."

It was a loosely worded, non-binding verbal contract, but it would suffice for what Ghira had in mind for the young man. If he couldn't immediately seek out the help of whomever killed the Sea Feilong, he could at least try to nab a tall blond Faunus that had more swords than limbs to help with the fight near the ancient ruins.

His presence alone spoke of the strength of his Aura and thus, his soul, so perhaps he had some skills to boast of as well.

Seeing the pensieve look on his wives guests face, Ghira knew that the blond would at least think about it and decided he had heard enough for now to satiate him, turning back to his meal now that he had done so.

Jaune took that as his queue to resume eating as well, though not for long as he was once more engaged in idle chatter, this time by Kali.

 **[SaS]**

"Why didn't you mention the Sea Feilong, Jaune? I figured you'd have bragged about killing such a beast, especially to the High Chieftain of the village it was terrorizing." Kali questioned lightly while stabbing her fork through a large clump of ribbon noodles coated in tuna and mushroom sauce, "Aren't young men your age usually more vocal in their triumphs?"

It was a legitimate question the woman felt needed to be addressed, though her blond guest hardly seemed bothered by her rather blunt line of questioning.

"It wasn't worth mentioning. It attacked the ship I was on, I killed it before it could kill me. No big deal." As with every time he answered a question aimed in his direction, Jaune seemed dismissive with his answer, as if he felt the questions were hardly worth answering, let alone asking. "I heard a few people whispering about a video of the event, I'm sure it'll surface eventually."

Kali narrowed her eyes at the answer, but didn't continue pushing for the blond to elaborate, instead turning to gauge the reactions of her husband and daughter to her revelation. For some reason, Jaune was incredibly skilled at downplaying his actions while trying to deflect any further questions on the subject by referencing a video.

He was basically telling her to watch the video if she wanted to know more on the subject, but in a way that wasn't downright rude.

How peculiar. She hadn't assumed her guest would be rather skilled in handling soft interrogations, let alone a master in keeping cool while under scrutiny. He was almost _too_ mature for his age, displaying things about himself that she would have expected from a time weary man of his forties, not someone who looks like they haven't even discovered the wonders of the flesh yet.

Ghira had straightened up immediately upon hearing Jaune's admission, his face scrunching up in confusion as if he couldn't understand the answer given all the while.

"Wait, _you_ were the one who killed the dragon?" Kali's husband questioned with both a small dash of awe and suspicion, both of which were reasonable given the information revealed, "Now I _really_ want to hire you, no, _need_ to hire you! That monster has plagued us for years, and if you're strong enough to kill _that_ particular Grimm..."

Jaune pursed his lips slightly at the mans words, sending Kali a quick glance that showed he wasn't amused by her actions, but she hardly cared in the least. If the messenger boy was indeed as strong as they thought he was, then maybe Kuo Kuana actually stood a chance at making it through this most recent assault they've been suffering under.

Ghira didn't seem to notice the small look that Jaune had given her, but Blake had. Kali watched her daughter stiffen slightly at her admission before her sharp, amber gaze had been directed towards the blond currently sitting beside her on the opposite end of the table from the elder woman.

"I... well, I guess I could use the extra money if I'm going to be stuck here while the Black Pearl goes through repairs." Jaune seemed to once more put some consideration into Ghira's request, though he didn't comment as if he had committed to the idea fully.

If anything, it seemed he was waiting on an actual offer, rather than a request for help.

Kali marked frugal businessman down on the mental list of information she had started compiling on her guest, liking what she had learned about him so far for the most part. He was a bit uptight and obviously very guarded when it came to revealing things about himself, but she didn't think those were bad traits rather than learned defenses.

Once more, her husband was visibly relieved by Jaune's words, and his shoulders seemed to sag quite a bit from their tense position as a result.

A pleased smile crossed her face once more as she resumed eating, her duties as matron and gossip mostly fulfilled. While the blond hadn't made an attempt at getting to know Blake quite yet, Kali was willing to let it slide for the obvious relief he had brought her husband Ghira instead.

For now, at least. With how long Jaune admitted he would be sticking around, as the damage to the Black Pearl was extensive, Kali had plenty of time to get him to see the wonders that was Blake-ism.

 **[SaS]**

Blake Belladonna wasn't quite sure what to make of the well-armed man that currently marched behind her father and before her as the three retired to Ghira's study as soon as dinner was finished. He answered each questioned her parents had asked in the most impersonal ways he could possibly manage, giving them just enough information to say he answered their question while keeping enough back to reveal next to nothing about himself in turn.

It was an odd manner of speaking, one that was laden thick with mistrust but at the same time, entirely respectful. Blake would have answered the same questions in a similar vein, should she have found herself in an unfamiliar environment while having dinner with complete strangers.

She felt like she just walked away from a high level corporate meeting at the Schnee Dust Company, as she was sure a transcript of the three's conversation would read like one if one were to look back.

Jaune Arc reeked of professionalism, and Blake could hardly fault him for it, if she didn't find it slightly off-putting. The way he walked, the way he talked, the way his gaze lingered on the shadows on the wall beside him to keep track of her movement behind him, all reminding her of the highest level White Fang operatives almost uncannily.

Even _she_ was more expressive than the closed off blond before her, and that was saying something.

Adam Taurus probably _wished_ he was half as in control of himself as Jaune seemed to be, and that was the most strange thing about the tall blond besides his eyes and choice of weaponry.

"Do you have a sit-rep, or will I be going in blind?" Jaune spoke up almost as soon as the three stepped into her fathers study, hardly giving the elder man time to sit down at his desk before he started asking questions, "Any information you can give me will allow me to give you a better idea on my final price."

"Things aren't looking good, to say the least." Blake was the one to break the silence after her father gestured in her direction, mostly likely due to her being far closer to the front lines of the conflict than the elder of the two, "A group of explorers disturbed a nest of Grimm that we believe are a sub-species of the Leviathan, a large, humanoid shaped Grimm with great size and an array of ranged attacks."

"How many are we talking?" Jaune questioned lightly, turning his attention towards herself instead of her father, "Dozens?"

"Close to a hundred, if I had to guess." Blake shrugged, unsure of their exact numbers due to how they seemed to push forward and fall back in waves, always making sure to keep their injured towards the back of said groupings, "They are rather... organized, for beings that supposedly lack intelligence. They've been hard foes to face, to say the least."

Jaune clicked his tongue lightly in thought at her admission, crossing his arms against his reasonably muscled chest before starting to drum his fingers lightly across his biceps. "That's a good bit of Grimm for one nest."

"It could be multiple, we just can't know for certain until we are able to push into where they've been holed up for goodness knows how long." Blake was hardly apologetic with her delivery, as there was nothing she could really say to refute his words. It was indeed a lot of Grimm for what appeared to be such a small area, confined previously behind walls dozens of feet tall.

For all Blake knew, the walls had been built to keep the Grimm in, rather than out, as was the more recent theory among the Fang operatives sent to fight off the Levi-creeps. She doubted such a thing, as there would be no buildings within the walls under such conditions, yet many buildings still stood to stand the testaments of time within the now crumbled walls of the ruins.

"Gods, this sounds like a dozy of a problem... I might have a solution, depending on your answer." Jaune answered visibly mulling over his options once more, his arms falling away from his chest as he spoke.

Before, he had seemed rather hesitant, but now Blake almost dared to say he looked excited.

"And what answer would that be?" Ghira was the one to speak, seeing as Blake could hardly answer for her father and the current negotiations were between the two of them.

"On just how much attachment you have to the land they're occupying."


	7. The Iron Beast

**Struggle and Strife**

 _Chapter 7, The Iron Beast_

I do not own anything pertaining to the RWBY universe, or Final Fantasy. No stocks, no stakes in RT or SE, nothing. Don't even own any merchandise.

This will be my last update for the next few days. Hopefully I can have another chapter out Monday night or perhaps Tuesday, as I find myself able to focus on this story much more as of lately.

 **[SaS]**

Blake Belladonna watched curiously as her current companion, Jaune Arc, idly gripped the largest of the six blades he had strapped into an intricate holster upon the small of his back. Due to the Grimm's nature of attraction towards negative emotion, something she still didn't quite comprehend due to not having attended a Huntsman academy yet, the High Chieftain of the village and the High Leader of the White Fang had issued a declaration of silence for those in the know of the ongoing conflict, punishable by death.

The daughter of the High Chieftain couldn't say she quite agreed with such a harsh decree, but was obligated to follow it none the less. Any curious villagers would be given the same lame excuse should they be perhaps too inquisitive to the nature of the White Fangs current wounded personnel.

Large, ongoing training exercises to try and shape them all up.

It was a weak excuse at best, and with how often it had been given out over the past month, it had taken the Intelligence Division of the White Fang many restless nights to try and contain the more vocal conspiracy theorist amongst the populace.

Feeling that the silence had grown too thick to handle, Blake found herself speaking on the subject that had been plaguing her mind since the end of dinner with her parents and the blond she felt she was leading to his death.

He was confident in himself, that was for sure, but that confidence did not extend to her in the least.

"Are you sure you'll be able to handle this? You claimed to have killed the Sea Feilong, but... I didn't see it." His guide spoke up, breaking the silence a few moments after they passed a line of guards that was apparently keeping perimeter around the quarantined battlegrounds. "You said it yourself, you're a delivery boy, right?"

"Aren't you just a bundle of sunshine." Jaune shot back with a small frown appearing on his otherwise stoic face, "Worry about yourself, wouldn't do to get caught with your guard down again."

"How-" Blake quickly rounded on him, her face going from pale to pink rather quickly in either embarrassment or anger.

"You don't get a wound to the back like that unless they got the drop on you." The taller blond gave his guide a look that quickly had her snap her mouth closed, "Like I said, worry about yourself."

The look of irritation in the primal pools of azure and emerald was one of the first real emotions she was able to decipher in the otherwise overly complex gaze of her current companion. He obviously wasn't used to being questioned and had instead pointed out her wounds as well as a very accurate guess on how she got them. His firmness and overall professional attitude led her to believe that he may be some sort of higher up within the so called 'Strife Delivery Services', and his precise estimates of the nature of her wound led a bit of credence to the tall blond holding some iota of battle experience.

Which made her question his claims of being just a 'delivery boy' even more than before.

Blake paused for all of a few moments, allowing Jaune to move ahead of her a bit before she once more began to walk at a somewhat sedated pace due to her throbbing back.

"How much further?" Jaune questioned tonelessly, finally drawing the large, tapered claymore-like sword he had been palming free from its holster on his back, "I smell blood, it's faint but getting stronger."

"Another minute or so." The black haired Faunus blinked slightly in confusion, as her nose had yet to pick up the ever present scent that lingered heavily in the forest they had been fighting in for a month straight. "You must have a very strong sense of smell, are you a canine Faunus then? I know you aren't Human."

It would certainly explain the wolf motif he had going on, though she had usually come to expect the common smell of a dog most canine Faunus instinctively released.

If anything, this Jaune character smelled more feline in nature than not, with a strange hint of a pheromone she couldn't quite place. Most Faunus released their own blend of pheromones specific to their sub-race, which was a well known fact, but she hadn't remembered encountering any during her travels abroad that even closely resembled the scent Jaune Arc gave off.

He certainly wasn't Human, that much was clear to her, and that was based off his pheromones alone.

She seemed to have touched on a sore subject for him, however, as he visibly winced at the question. "Something like that."

It was clear from the set of his jaw that the blond didn't feel like speaking any longer, not that he had ever looked the sort in the first place.

Was he ashamed of his heritage, then? It was quite frequent in those who grew up in mostly Human environments, some even growing to hate themselves in the most extreme of cases.

Blake took that as a non-verbal queue to be silent, clearly having upset her companion with her none too kind words and probing questions. She was forced to cease her movements completely when Jaune came to a halt while reaching for another sword at his back with his free hand.

The Katana-Variant wielder was expecting him to dual wield the two blades, not seemingly slam them together with a strange flash of greenish blue to make a larger blade before repeating the process with all of the six blades upon his back until only a singular, massive great sword remained in his right hand.

Each time he added a new blade, the steadily growing weapon would flash greenish blue, as if it took the usage of Aura to engage the mechanisms each blade would require to fit together so seamlessly.

The feline Faunus had never quite considered creating an entire set of weapons that could be assembled together to create an even larger weapon, though she supposed it wasn't the strangest usage of mecha-shift technology she had ever seen.

All in all, the ease in which he held such a massive blade aloft with just his right hand alone let Blake know then and there that he was just as strong as his appearance made him out to be. The muscles in his arm hardly flexed under the strain of his weapon, and from the skillful twirl of the behemoth that he displayed in the palm of his hand, he was more than familiar with the blade.

She couldn't have twirled that monster with both hands and some help from Adam if her life depended on it, let alone as masterfully as it's wielder had.

Blake schooled any shock she might have felt at the display, instead rationalizing it as the blond trying to impress her. It would take more than just making a giant sword and spinning it around fancily to change her mind about his inability, still basing her estimates on his occupation and age.

Even _Adam_ was hardly making a difference in the fight with the Levi-creeps, and his skill with the blade was still leagues above her own thanks to the five, close to six year difference in their age. What possible difference did this one man think he could have?

"Blake." Jaune eventually broke the silence between the two as the drew nearer and nearer to where the source of the smell of blood originated, "I need everyone to fall back towards the main road where it's safe, can you do that for me?"

"What? Are you crazy? And have those monsters overrun my home in an instant?" Blake instantly found close to a dozen problems with what Jaune had just asked of her, just as quickly making it clear how she felt about it. "What the hell kind of plan do you have if _that's_ what you want?"

"Tell you what." The tall blond was suddenly engulfed with the same aquatic green mixture of emerald and sapphire that his blade had previously displayed, erupting from his feet and the ground around him like a flame, "When the Grimm start running in one direction, have everyone run in the opposite, unless they want to get caught in the crossfire."

"What are you talking about, what are you going to do?" Blake was still not comprehending the person before her, nor the massive Aura that had enveloped him so thoroughly. "How much Aura do you even have?"

She could hardly cause an outline of deep purple to appear around her body when concentrating on bringing her Aura to the surface of her skin, let alone a raging inferno that would extend a foot from her body. It was almost unfathomable to her, to see such a casual display of strength from a so-called delivery boy.

Perhaps there was more to the name Strife Delivery Service than she had first assumed, as she could certainly see the strife such a powerful Aura would bring someone in the wilds, where the Grimm roamed freely and unchecked by nature.

With how much of the energy drawn from the Soul he was releasing, she figured he would be like a bright light in a vast gulf of black to the Grimm around them and quickly started to back away towards where she knew the true front line was a few dozen yards in the opposite direction. In less than a minute, this area would be absolutely swamped and she had a feeling Jaune knew it, as he just provided the biggest target for the Grimm to go after in an area she was sure was miles around.

As she turned completely to downright sprint in the opposite direction as fast as her still weak legs could take her, she took one final glance over her shoulders upon hearing Jaune start to sprint away.

His Aura, which was already tremendous in size, had seemingly grown into a large bonfire if she could equate its size to anything else, extending now six feet in every direction from his body and as high as twelve feet from the ground. It illuminated the previously dark forest in it's aquatic green tone and chased away the heavy shadows that night had brought to Menagerie.

Flaring her own Aura towards her legs and back in an effort to speed up once more, though to a much lesser degree than Jaune, Blake continued to put distance between herself and the now obvious signal in the dark she was sure to grab the attention of each and every Grimm around for at least a mile.

It was ridiculously dangerous for an Aura user to flare their Aura when out in the wild, as it was like a homing beacon for the Grimm to hone in on. This was something every person with their Aura knew, as it was almost considered mandatory knowledge for any would-be Grimm slayer.

Perhaps the blond didn't know that little fact, or perhaps he was banking on it, Blake couldn't be sure.

The only thing she was sure of at that moment was the need to get out of his general vicinity and thus, out of path of the horde of Grimm she could feel the tremble of the footsteps of beneath her feet.

 **[SaS]**

Jaune continued to run for half a minute as quickly as he could, making sure to maintain the strength of his Aura output all the while as he put some distance between himself and his final destination. Utilizing his Semblance, which was the ability to amplify his Aura, the black clad blond forced the Aura that had already left his body to strengthen far past its already potent latency.

The bonfire around him became an uncontainable inferno, bathing the surrounding trees in his Mako-hued Aura and refilling his reserves as quickly as they burned away.

He had practiced using his powerful ability of strengthening his Soul's energy many miles away from his families home just a few months after having his Aura awakened, figuring it was better to not draw any Grimm's attention to his abode while he experimented.

Jaune was glad he did, as the moment he actively drew upon the powerful energy within him that seemed to exist along side his Mana reserves for the first time, his body lit up like a Mako Reactor gone critical.

It had taken him some few weeks of repeatedly drawing upon his Aura and releasing it before he came to understand just what he was doing, as well as how unheard of it was to have the ability to strengthen his deep reserves even further with a thought after he asked of his father the mans opinion on the subject.

This same ability of amplification did not extend to the Magic he wielded after absorbing the three Master Materia he had made a habit of keeping on him, but Jaune supposed those abilities hardly needed any further boost as it was, nor would he be using said Magic until the very end of his current plan.

His objectives were simple on paper, but relatively difficult in execution for anyone but himself. The first step of his plan, which he was currently enacting, was to give the Grimm in the vicinity of the base of the mountain range before him a target they couldn't pass up. By doing so, he hoped to draw each and every Grimm away from those currently holding a loose front line against the horde and towards his position some mile or two away.

Once he was sure enough time had passed after drawing the Grimm to his position, Jaune was going to lead them back to the same spot they had fled from and within the crumbling ruins that bore their nest before finishing off any of those he couldn't kill prior in one fell swoop.

By drawing them away and giving those on the front line enough time to fall back, he hoped there would be no more need for them to continue fighting as there should be no Grimm left for miles after Jaune completes the final step of his hastily thrown together plan.

With his Aura flaring wildly around him, Jaune concentrated his internal energies towards the Fusion Sword and swung it horizontally in every direction around him until he stood within a clearing of felled trees. The once narrow passageway through the forest towards the mountains rarely used by the Faunus occupants of the island nation became a large, circular patch of dying trees and only a minute after the trees fell, raining ichor.

The Grimm descended upon Jaune a dozen strong as they finally broke the treeline surrounding the recently created clearing, with the blond now having a clean line of sight between him and his encroaching foes.

Another Blade Beam erupted from the Fusion Sword, bisecting one of the large, reptilian Grimm that leaped at him with surprising agility and height down the middle. The two halves parted in time to give Jaune a view of the second Grimm rushing in behind it, and another flick of the massive sword removed its head.

It was at this point that Jaune was able to get a good look at what appeared to be the bulk of the Grimm he would be facing. It's head was bone plated and covered in crimson etchings like most other species of the dark beasts, shaped much like an alligator's or perhaps a crocodiles. It had a maw filled to the brim with teeth, two rows of serrated daggers lining the inside of the creatures jaws and what appeared to be its inner throat as well.

Its body was mostly sleek black and appeared to be heavily scaled, with rows of small white bone armor interlacing over toughened black flesh, bulky yet decidedly refined throughout years of usage. From the heavy claws on both their hands and feet, as well as small, almost non-existent eyes, the blond hazarded a guess that they might have been a subterranean species of Grimm and not a surface dwelling one.

The last notable feature about the quickly encroaching Grimm was their propensity towards having long, heavily plated tails that were nearly as thick as their torso until it tapered into a tip.

Some had much longer tails than the others did, so Jaune was left to assume that there was some sort of reason behind the appendage and its growth.

The only other types of Grimm that Jaune could make out from the crowds of bipedal crocodile Grimm were two or three King Taijitu, upwards of six Beringel and what appeared to be a singular but massive chameleon Grimm if his guess was correct.

Over all, not an overly exotic bunch from what he could tell outside of the strange humanoid Grimm he was currently having to fend off, the rest having a name to associate with their face or at least an assumption on what they might be capable of.

With a large crowd of Grimm having finally closed the distance between the edge of the clearing and himself, Jaune started to tear into the crowd with wide sweeps of the Fusion Sword, letting none get even somewhat close to touching him with their teeth or claws.

It was only when four of them attacked in tandem with beams of lightning that Jaune started taking them even somewhat seriously, as they were far too slow in nature to be much of a threat to him otherwise. With as much experience as he had from his previous life and the extra memories and skills of two SOLDIER First Classes, it would take more than the Grimm surrounding him to actually threaten his life, even if every single one of them attacked with some kind of laser all at once.

As he continued to tear through the Grimm attempting to surround him, he hardly noticed the crowd of Levi-creeps behind him parting enough for the now invisible chameleon Grimm to bat Jaune away with its thick tail.

Jaune and two of the Levi-creeps went flying towards the treeline from the force behind the attack, though the blond swordsman quickly corrected his positioning mid-flight while lashing out with his sword as he flipped to cleave either of the Grimm flying with him in twain.

Landing heavily against one of the larger trees lining the clearing with his feet pressed beneath him, Jaune pumped a small bit of his Aura towards his feet and used his Semblance to amplify its strength just as he pushed off of the trees surface. The resulting force generated was enough to launch Jaune like a missile towards the chameleon Grimm's position before it could hide amongst the crowd once more.

Poising his left hand along the back of the Fusion Sword where the handle of one of its many component swords rested, Jaune allowed his body to once more become engulfed in his Mako-green Aura as he slammed into the large reptilian with the force of one of his higher tier Magic spells, blade first.

The Grimm flesh, bone and then earth beneath him folded over and seemingly rippled like water before it erupted up and outwards in a brilliant shower of Aura, ichor, dirt, stone and splinters. The energy surrounding his body transferred into the ground and then sprung upwards from the multitude of fissures that formed as a result of his rapid descent, impaling and vaporizing any and every Grimm that the bright energy touched.

The many trees lining the floor of the previously dense forest fared no better and little remained besides chunks of wood and odd piles of leaves here and there, the large clearing now pockmarked with cracks, blackened ash and lingering energy.

This did not stop the large swarm of Levi-creeps, still growing in size as the fighting continued, from surging forward to fill the gaps their fallen brethren left in their lines, trying their utmost to lunge at the blond and tear him limb from limb as their innate carnal hatred demanded. Many attempted to climb over one another in an attempt to get to Jaune first, each seemingly more eager than the previous to die as their numbers continued to be thinned.

It took another minute of constant attacking and dodging for one of the lumbering Grimm to get a lucky shot in, a wickedly clawed hand digging into his stomach as he beheaded the most recent of the beasts to step up to try and eat him.

The claws did not manage to pierce his flesh entirely, but the strength behind the blow was enough to leave three bleeding gashes in its wake. Just as he felt the clawed hand dig into his stomach, despite beheading the attacker, he was facing the wrong direction to see the lightning based laser attacks of the Grimm racing through the air towards his back.

It slammed into him only a moment after the clawed hand dug into his stomach, nearly forcing him face first into the earth below from the power behind the attack, though he was able to roll with the momentum generated and out of the way of a dog-pile of Levi-creeps.

With this being the first time he was wounded in the conflict, and seeing no end to the sea of crimson and yellow eyes staring back at him, Jaune figured he had waited long enough and started running to where Ghira told him the nest of the Grimm would be located.

It took all of a second for the Grimm surrounding him to give chase.

 **[SaS]**

Sienna Khan couldn't hide the angry scowl on her face as she listened to yet another field report from the front lines just a hundred or so feet from her position. Standing with four others inside of a rather hastily erected tent of furs and whatever cloth fabrics they could spare, as their previous command tent had been overrun weeks prior, the High Leader of the White Fang was growing more and more restless as the night continued on.

The number of wounded soldiers under her command had continued to grow by the day, and she feared that already staggering number would be close to doubled in only a single night with how ferocious the Grimm seemed to have become for apparently no reason. It had started some hours prior, no more than four or five, but the change in atmosphere had been noticeable even to the greenest of grunts.

Adam Taurus, her most loyal of Generals, knelt before her as he awaited further orders. She had been just about to issue his nightly command when she had been interrupted by a guard that was tasked with keeping perimeter around her tent.

"Go on then, grunt, out with it!" Sienna did not hold back the fire from her tone, instead unleashing it fully upon the out of breath teenager, "We don't have all night!"

"Y-yes ma'am, High Leader ma'am!" The pale and sweaty hare Faunus, noticeably different than their cousins the rabbit Faunus, rose and saluted their feline High Leader before giving their reasoning for interrupting, "Lieutenant Belladonna is requesting an audience, ma'am, she claims it is urgent!"

Sienna furrowed her brows lightly in confusion at why Blake would be returning to the battlefield so late after spending the last ten hours working through inventory received from the Black Pearl and the remnants of what they had prior to the ships arrival.

"Very well, send her in! Quickly!" Sienna allowed her scowl to fall slightly as she once more turned her attention to the crimson haired man dressed in black kneeling before her, "Any idea on why she's here, General Taurus?"

"No, High Leader." The man did not hesitate in responding, and she detected no hints of a lie in his tone.

Sienna didn't have long to ponder as Blake quickly burst through the tent looking almost like a bat from the caves. "High Leader, ma'am, I need to speak with you!"

"Yes, I'm aware," The elder tiger Faunus didn't resist the urge to roll her eyes, as she had already been made plainly aware that Blake would be needing to speak with her, "Out with it, then."

Her tone was decidedly less vicious when aimed towards Blake than it had been at the grunt that had first interrupted her.

"My, the High Chieftain," Blake quickly stopped herself from addressing Ghira as her father during her report, as it was too personal for his position, "Has hired a mercenary to help deal with the Levi-creep incursion. He seems to think he can make some sort of difference in our struggle single handed and has started using staggering amounts of Aura to draw the Grimm away from us for a few minutes."

"What? Who on Remnant would try and do such a thing?" Sienna couldn't quite grasp the message Blake was trying to deliver, even if her report was given in plain language, "Surely drawing the attention of so many Grimm is tantamount to suicide, yes?"

"I have my doubts as well, High Leader, Ma'am, but the High Chieftain has given him the all clear to act with limited impunity so long as his mission objective is completed." Blake intoned, almost emotionless, as she snapped off her reply as quickly as she could, "Not limited to but potentially including the complete destruction of the Levi-creep's nest or nests, the surrounding ruins as well as the swarm of Grimm themselves."

"And just how does a single person plan to do all of this?" Sienna's furrowed brows instead inclined towards her hairline as she listened to Blake list the stipulations behind the mercenary's contract established by Ghira, "No matter, ign-"

"Ma'am, the Grimm seem to be falling back towards the east, they've disengaged completely from the linesmen!" For the second time that night, the same guard as before burst into the command tent occupied by the High Leader of the White Fang and her closest General and Lieutenant.

Instead of lashing out like her suddenly clenched fist implied she would, the dark skinned tiger Faunus instead took a deep breath and sent her smoldering, borderline orange gaze towards the guard once more. "Explain yourself!"

"It's just as I said, Ma'am! The Grimm have stopped trying to push towards the village and have started running deeper into the forest instead, close to the base of the mountains!" From the nervous look on the mans face and the tremble of his knees, he was hardly in any condition to remain under Sienna's harsh gaze for long, being a punishment in and of itself.

"Come, General Taurus, Lieutenant Belladonna, we must confirm this report and plan accordingly. Brigadier General Bismuthi, start having our wounded brought back towards the field hospital while we've got this brief reprieve! On me, you two." Sienna quickly snapped out her orders and started for the door, easily brushing past the nervous guard whom had yet to be dismissed with Adam and Blake hot on her heels.

As the rather short Faunus allowed her gaze to trail what was once an active battleground just moments prior in the distance, she could tell that the guard was correct in saying that _every_ Grimm had fled the front lines. She couldn't confirm that they were heading to the east, as she was unable to see any of the foul beasts whatsoever, but Sienna was willing to take his word for it.

"Ma'am, if this is indeed the result of the mercenary's plan, then we might want to have everyone fall back away from the ruins." Blake spoke up as the three started to make their way towards where a crowd of White Fang members continued to stand at the ready in case the Grimm turned and came back, "On the very off chance that his plan succeeds, he claimed to have not wanted anyone to get caught in the crossfire."

"And you said he was going to terminate the nest of the Levi-creeps?" Sienna questioned as the three continued towards the Faunus at a slightly quickened pace, "Perhaps he is going to lure the Grimm there after giving enough time for a retreat... very well, we will give this mercenary his shot."

"High Leader?" Adam simply called out Sienna's title in confusion, to perhaps demonstrate some opposition to the idea, "Is it wise to give the Grimm any more ground than they've already gained? If the mercenary fails, which he most likely will, then it's right back to holding the line for our remaining fighters."

Sienna frowned lightly but didn't outright deny Adam's words, knowing that there was indeed merit to his worries.

The sound of an explosion in the distance reached their ears and the three bore witness to the forest to the east briefly lighting up a brilliant, almost aquatic shade of green. The bright flash of light disappeared almost as quickly as it came, lingering only a moment before fading completely on the horizon.

It wasn't just Sienna, Adam and Blake that witnessed the sudden light show that appeared after the previous explosion was heard, as multiple linesmen pointed in the same general direction they were facing before they started murmuring worryingly amongst themselves.

"Was that the mercenary, Blake?" Sienna felt the need to ask, despite it being almost obvious that it was indeed the man hired by Ghira that was most likely the cause of the explosion and light show, "I think we need to investigate further before we issue a retreat, I don't trust a single person to hold back that many Grimm for long."

"As you wish, High Leader." The pale skinned partner of Adam did not seem displeased by Sienna's words, instead sending fleeting, worrying glances towards the east as the three touched down before the group of linesmen they had set their sights on.

"Ma'am, the Grimm have fallen back towards the east with more still pouring out of the ruins!" The highest ranking linesman was the one to speak up, snapping a salute in Sienna's direction as the three came to a halt next to the rather large group of haggard men and women alike, "Your orders, Ma'am?"

"Continue holding the line unless you see a white flare. If you see the flare, I want you to call out for a fallback to just outside the perimeter of my tent, understood?" Sienna once more quickly snapped off her orders, wasting no time at all as she knew the brief moment of reprieve was unlikely to last much longer, "We are going to investigate the cause behind the Grimm's retreat, perhaps tonight might see the end of this senseless bloodshed."

"Ma'am, yes Ma'am!" Came the responses of not only the commanding officer amongst the group, but each member respectively.

Knowing there was little left to be said, Sienna made her intentions clear by proceeding towards where the flare of green light had originated, taking to the branches of the trees with an Aura-enhanced leap with Blake and Adam still following closely behind her in the same fashion.

"Blake, did your father mention if he found the person responsible for killing the Sea Feilong?" The High Leader once more felt the need to ask a question of the young Faunus, though she kept her attention on the horizon as they continued to leap through the trees at a rapid pace.

"Yes, the same mercenary he hired, a young man named Jaune Arc, claimed responsibility for the act." Blake admitted, her ears flickering twice as the sound of heavy conflict faintly reached her ears, "We are getting close."

"I suppose the man must still be alive then..." Sienna murmured to herself, her own ears picking up the same sounds Blake's likely were, if not even sharper than the younger females, "All I can hear is the whistle of a large blade and what sounds like flesh being cut or ripped."

The leader of the three held up a fist and slowed to a halt atop one of the thickest branches within her vision to support her weight, Adam and Blake doing the same as the three stressed their ears to get a better idea on what was happening. So far, they were still too far to get a good view of the supposed mercenary, yet not far enough to be unable to catch sight of just how many Grimm seemed to be rushing towards the same general vicinity.

"My gods..." Sienna heard Blake murmur in disbelief behind her, and the High Leader found it difficult to not feel the same sentiments.

"They are moving towards the west again, in the direction of the ruins." Adam pointed out after a moment of watching the churning sea of black, white, crimson and yellow before them slowly start to change direction and speed.

Despite the large number of Grimm, they seemed to be unnaturally quiet and dare she say it, focused as they continued to pile over one another to get at the figure the three still couldn't make out over the piles of bodies, more so than usual at the very least.

"Close in but try to keep out of range of the Grimm. I want eyes on that mercenary." When it became clear their target wasn't going to be moving in their direction, the dark skinned Faunus quickly formulated a trajectory that would put her and her compatriots on a close enough path with the massive sea of Grimm to eventually catch sight of the warrior. "We need to figure out what he has planned, and if he's capable of actually keeping up with that many beasts after him."

"Yes, Ma'am." Blake and Adam were not going to argue with her, not when the tides of a battle they had been previously losing shifted so suddenly in their favor.

Sienna couldn't help but want to put her faith in the as of yet to be seen mercenary, but knew that doing so blindly was foolishness at best. She would need to see results first hand before she did anything of the sort.

 **[SaS]**

Jaune grunted as he wrapped his left arm around the base of a rather skinny tree and used the added support offered to change his trajectory completely, allowing him to dodge out of the way of yet another Levi-creep that got a bit too close for his comfort. The tree he previously wrapped his limb around, however, was soon shredded completely and was left to topple in Jaune's direction as he sprinted ahead of the livid creatures.

Calling upon even more of the Magic within him than before, he thought of the rather familiar attack of _Quake 3,_ the strongest earth based spell that Jaune could call upon outside of a full on, uncontrolled earthquake, and allowed his magic to do the rest.

Spires of stone erupted from the earth behind the blond and spread out like a blooming flower, impeding the path of the Grimm slightly and impaling quite a few of the beasts who couldn't change direction in time to prevent slamming into the sharpened spires.

This gave Jaune just a bit more breathing room than before as he cast yet another spell, this time on himself, as the Grimm behind him struggled to close the gap between them. The outline of a stylized clock appeared around him, the second, minute and hour hands moving quicker and quicker the longer it lingered in the air before disappearing completely, giving him a powerful boost in speed that only the _Haste_ spell could give.

Using the heightened speed to his advantage, the former terrorist gone good turned his attention towards the lumbering sea of beasts behind him with a savage glint in his eyes. He pushed off quickly to finish closing the gap before they could do the same, his blade swinging forth with nearly twice as much speed and force as before as he became a veritable hurricane of steel and ichor, slicing and dicing through the flesh and bone of the Grimm as if they were nothing more than rice paper figurines.

Jaune allowed the hollow blade that acted as the tip of the completed Fusion Sword to remain embedded in the chest of the last in a line of Levi-creeps he reached before his left hand lashed out to take hold of the second blade. Using the now released weapon in his off hand, Jaune was able to cut down a good dozen or so of the crocodilian humanoids with a bit more ease and grace than before, and it didn't take long for him to cut yet another path through the still-growing expanse of darkness incarnate.

There was a light sheen of perspiration causing his hair to stick to his forehead, a droplet getting in his eye and stinging something fierce from the high salt concentrations introduced to the mucus covered organ. It was around this point that Jaune figured the numbers surrounding him could have only been four dozen at most, but with how many Grimm lingered near the edge of his peripherals, still racing towards him, it was possible the number was going to increase back to the triple digits soon enough.

Clicking his tongue in irritation for what felt like the third time that night, the blond leaped as high into the air as he could and cleared the treetops for a few seconds after slicing through a few branches that impeded his ascent, two Grimm colliding head on beneath him as both tried to dog pile him to hold him down.

Taking the few seconds of being airborne to get a grasp of his current location and his final objective, Jaune landed on a branch near the canopy of the forest that he hadn't cut down and took off as quickly as his legs could take him towards the north-west, where he briefly caught a glimpse of crumbled stone buildings at the base of the mountain range.

 _'This is way more than a hundred Grimm, Blake._ ' Jaune thought to himself blithely as he took small glimpse below him to make sure the Grimm were indeed still following him, ' _I don't appreciate this in the least.'_

Despite his irritation, however, Jaune knew that he would have still accepted the not-so-subtle plea for help regardless if she had given him a better estimate or no estimate at all. It was something he would have done in his previous life, and he saw absolutely no need to get rid of his strange propensity to overindulge in selfless heroics what so ever.

Saving an entire planet from destruction had the odd ability to change people for the better, in a way, and Jaune supposed saving an island nation was probably as close as he was going to get for a bit of his old indulgences.

After a few moments of rather mindless travel, the effects of Jaune's _Haste_ spell wore off, leaving him feeling a bit sluggish and out of breath for a moment as his body slowed to its natural rate of enhanced movement. While it was still leagues ahead of what a natural Human or Faunus could produce with a speed-based Semblance or Time Magics, Jaune could feel the hot breath of the Grimm behind him on his neck as he jumped down to the forest floor.

Spinning on his heel and quickly relieving the Grimm of its lower lower jaw and soon after its head, the blond kicked the now decomposing body of the large humanoid beast into the encroaching mass of black muscle, bone and condensed malice.

Jaune crouched slightly before leaping backwards, executing five consecutive back flips to clear the area he previously occupied, now swarmed completely with snapping jaws and rending claws. He landed smoothly near the very ruins that Blake and Ghira had mentioned to him briefly, the supposed location where the large number of Grimm had been encapsulated for perhaps centuries.

Based on the state of the ruins, overgrown with vines and so very obviously weather-worn, Jaune couldn't disagree with their estimate on just how long the beasts had been dormant.

Knowing that it wouldn't be long before the entirety of the large swath of ruined stone buildings were crawling with the black and white beasts of reptilian shape, Jaune attached the hollow blade in his off hand to the tip of the Fusion Sword once more before temporarily sheathing his blade entirely.

With either hand free, the blond turned towards the ruins and started to flare his Aura wildly once more, acting as a homing beacon for whatever Grimm were not already targeting him already. With his Aura engulfing his body completely, Jaune found little difficulty in leaping to the top of the crumbling walls before leaping once more onto a rather tall stone building with intricately carved stone pillars supporting a domed roof and sloped walls.

Taking a rather quick look around, Jaune was hit with a small wave of regret as he knew that the final step of his plan to eliminate the Grimm threat entirely would leave perhaps close to half of these aesthetically pleasing ruins in complete rubble.

As the beasts that he was contracted to slaughter returned to the ruins from whence they dwelled in peace, the courier turned mercenary began to jump from rooftop to rooftop, waiting just long enough between his leaps to give the creatures Grimm below to catch up with him. Now that he was completely clear of the forest and not prone to cause a forest fire, the blond couldn't help his rather mad cackles as he liberally applied lightning in the form of the spell _Bolt 3_ to his enemies to continue thinning the herd.

It was somewhat pleasing to blast the beasts back with lightning after their surprise laser attacks tagged him twice during his brief shepherding stint in phase one of his plan. It wasn't good of him to find vindictive pleasure in revenge, but considering just what he was killing and how badly they needed to die, he hardly felt bad for it long.

The lightning that descended from the sky would turn whichever Grimm it struck to ash before violently electrocuting whichever unlucky beast happened to be closest to the blast radius. Considering the nature of electricity and the many laws of nature it followed, it would leap out in a chain before catching upwards of ten of the Levi-creeps in its web.

It was not only _Bolt 3_ that Jaune used, however, as he soon reached where he assumed a great battle had already taken place in the past due to the copious amounts of skeletons and weapons laying upon the overgrown stone walkways on ground level. _Ice 3_ and _Fire 3,_ the remaining two of the four basic elements yet to be used, made their apparel as well, leaving many of the Levi-creeps frozen solid in the core of rising ice spires or impaled upon sharpened spikes much like the _Quake 3_ spell had done with the earth itself.

Despite Jaune's constant and quick casting, however, it was not enough to completely destroy the Grimm forces below, merely thinning their numbers into a more manageable crowd than before. Now that he had remained stationary, however, he found himself subject to torrents of laser fire erupting from the maws of the Levi-creeps, forcing him to duck under cover in an alcove atop a finely assembled stone tower built into the side of what appeared to be a church of sorts.

 _'Well... It's now or never.'_ Jaune thought to himself grimly as he glanced back out and down at the sea of beasts sharing the same word he felt described his current situation as a name, completely filling every inch of physical space available as far as his eyes could see. _'Hopefully he'll just do his thing and leave.'_

Leaping from the cover provided by the tower, Jaune swung himself to the roof of said tower and began to draw heavily on the Magic within himself. With his connection to the energy that had followed him from Gaia growing stronger by the second, he brought his right hand towards his chest before sending it skyward.

Circular glyphs formed around his arm as his gathered Magic took a major dive, rushing away from his body at high speeds towards the clouds above when the swing of his arm was complete. The clouds in the path of the glyphs of Magic churned, darkened and began to swirl in on themselves before slowly descending from the sky in what appeared to be a tornado forming above.

Instead of forming a twister, however, the bit of churning cloud that descended from the rest of the massive bodies of evaporated and condensed water vapor began to darken further and further before the vapor was blasted away to reveal something else entirely.

With a span of close to twenty feet from crown to tail, a massive dragon spread it's blade tipped wings wide and let out a roar worthy of a legendary beast before beginning its descent towards the ground at breakneck speeds.

Swooping low over the ruined metropolis of stone, the Summon known simply as Bahamut to the world of Gaia made it's presence known on Remnant for the first time in it's existence. With it came a massive gale, bowling over swathes of the Grimm below as well as toppling quite a few of the more worn and weathered buildings.

Jaune crossed his arms and watched carefully as the massive golden, black and silver dragon landed on the roof of a building not too far from his own location while charging up an attack the blond knew was called _Megaflare._ Like the name implied, it was in a similar vein as the _Flare_ spell, only so much more powerful than Jaune was capable of taking said spell.

Bracing himself for the coming attack and the possibility it would collapse the building he was currently using as a perch, the blond scanned the sea of ruined stone buildings for another good area to lure the Grimm should Bahamut fail in killing them all before dispelling himself. It was during said scan, however, that he stumbled across a sight that he would have rather not been there.

Three borderline-horrified sets of eyes not his own watched as the massive beam of destruction known as _Megaflare_ erupted from Bahamut's jowls and annihilated absolutely everything in its path, Grimm and stone building alike.

The beam of destruction stretched on for quite a distance and soon it was used to carve a massive swath of the overgrowth and stone to dust, as well as almost each and every Grimm that had been foolish enough to follow Jaune into the ruins.

Luckily, however, the three beings, one of which Jaune faintly recognized as Blake Belladonna, were not in the immediate path of destruction and were spared the damage such an attack would have had on them, namely death.

When the overly powerful dragon finally ceased its attack and it no longer belted destruction, Bahamut slowly turned its gaze upwards to where Jaune was perched atop his tower before just as slowly starting to fade into greenish-blue mist.

It mimicked something akin to speech for a moment, however, though it was in the garbled form of an ancient Gaian dialect that none present could have hoped to understand, from when the Dragon King was more than a beast to be used to wage battle at the whims of Humans or Cetra and he ruled his lands with an iron fist.

" _You're still a punk-ass blond little bitch, If I ever get out of this hell you call a soul, I swear on me mum I'll-"_

With that, Bahamut faded away completely, leaving Jaune to bow his head in wonder at what profound words the former Dragon King could have just offered him. Scouring his knowledge and drawing a complete blank, the former terrorist shrugged his shoulders as if to dismiss his ponderings and began his descent from the towers roof to the destroyed landscape below to finish off whatever Grimm remained alive after being brought devastation in one of its more pure forms.

Sometimes, it was good to have such powerful and loyal allies to call upon to aid him on his new home planet named Remnant.


	8. A New Type of Hope

**Struggle and Strife**

 _Chapter 8, A New Type of Hope_

I do not own anything pertaining to the RWBY universe, or Final Fantasy. No stocks, no stakes in RT or SE, nothing. Don't even own any merchandise.

 **[SaS]**

Sienna Khan was, without a doubt, one of the most ambitious and intelligent members amongst the current White Fang. This was true in both physical and mental capacities, as her combat skills lay only second to her General, Adam Taurus, and her prowess in terms of strategy were second to none. Long having a knack for thinking in not only the short term, but the long term as well, she planned all of her battles and political maneuvers according to how the benefits and downfalls of her actions weighed in both the now, and the later.

Try as she might, however, she couldn't quite predict how a confrontation with the being below might proceed. He was both unaccounted for and unaccountable all wrapped in one. Hidden completely until this moment and unanswerable to any but the man whom held his contract.

Sienna couldn't quite comprehend the scene that had just played out before her as well as she would have liked to, her mind drawing a complete blank as she watched the massive _dragon_ the man hired by Ghira had summoned start to evaporate into a green mist. The harsh breathing of Adam Taurus and Blake Belladonna faintly registered in her four ears, her own breath coming out in small pants as the air around them was thin and suffocating with heat and smoke from the bountiful destruction and plentiful falling lightning around her.

She could feel her heart beating in her throat, slamming heavily against her esophagus similar to the rhythm of a war drum and forcing her to swallow thickly as saliva pooled near the back of her tongue. Sienna felt as if her world had been tilted on its axis, and that everything she thought she knew about strength fell away in the sudden shift.

From what she had just bore witness to, she didn't know the first thing about strength _or_ power as she had led herself to believe. It was humbling to know that a _single person_ held within him the capabilities of potentially razing all of Kuo Kuana to the ground, should he have felt the need to summon that monstrosity of a beast that belted ruin within her home village and not use it to slay the Grimm threat at their back door.

How did one reconcile with the fact that their life was as close to being snuffed as their mortal enemies in the face of the heavily armored dragon? That another twitch of its head in their direction would have been their ultimate doom?

The High Leader attempted to replay the scene in her head, yet it made less sense the longer she thought about it. Was that the man's Semblance in action? Was that dragon he summoned simply an Aura projection created by the power within him?

If that was the case, then the beam of blue ruin that the dragon belted was created completely under the power of the blond himself, and that was more terrifying than anything else she had just seen. If _he_ could fire off attacks like that on his own, without the help for his dragon, then just what kind of monster was he? There was no way something like what she was witnessing was normal, as it was anything _but._ No Human or Faunus she knew of could boast legends of slaying upwards of two hundred Grimm by themselves while taking almost negligible damage to oneself in just hours.

Even the Specialists of the Atlesian Military were incapable of the feats the man hired by Ghira seemed to be displaying, even without his penultimate summoning ability.

Sienna could have likened the ability to the Glyph Semblance that all Schnee seemed to have, but the symbols and structure of the blonds summoning were so unlike what she had studied going over illegal footage of Winter Schnee training within one of the Atlesian Bases dotting the coasts of Atlas that they were almost incomparable.

The Schnee were refined, snowy and had a propensity towards being slim and short in stature. Nothing about what she'd expect from a Schnee, even a bastard, displayed itself in the Grimm-slaying nightmare down below. That, and there was just _no_ way a Schnee would ever raise a hand to help a Faunus, let alone the very home of the species, even for all the Lien and Dust in the world. It was just an impossibility, and she knew as such.

It was also the knowledge that Ghira _wouldn't_ have hired a Human tourist, even with immense strength at his beck and call. While the man wasn't a Speciest quite like Sienna was, he was pragmatic enough to keep anything and everything happening within Kuo Kuana as obscured to the Human world as possible.

Even under the threat of death he wouldn't have included Human's, as that would threaten his very position as High Chieftain amongst his more vocal advocates and potentially throw everything he had ever worked on into flux.

The blond presented a mystery to Sienna, one that she was keen to unraveling as soon as Faunusly possible. Should he prove willing, she would gladly use her position to hone him into a weapon for the White Fang. Should he prove himself a potential enemy...

How would she go about killing a man who could summon a dragon in retaliation should she fail?

Making an enemy of the man seemed to be foolish at best, down right suicidal at worst. That left her with only one real choice if she were honest with herself, and that was to ally herself with him in some form or fashion.

Adam's Lieutenant was the first to break the silence between the three White Fang members watching the slaughter below, her voice thick with a multitude of emotions. "What... what did I just witness? Was that... real?"

It was a bit difficult to make out her voice completely, Sienna being made aware of the ringing in her head and four ears almost instantly. It wasn't quite enough to bring on a migraine, but it would be an annoyance for some time.

"It was." Her partner confirmed, his voice as equally disbelieving as his partners, "That actually just happened."

A flash of green caught the High Leader's eyes, causing her to turn her gaze towards the blond swordsman casually cleaving through the remaining Levi-creeps that weren't vaporized by his still-fading dragons attack.

The crackle of lightning once more echoed across the ruined metropolis, though it was far closer to the three than the other bolts had been. Jerking slightly in surprise from the proximity of the crash of electricity, Sienna and her two underlings swept their gazes upward, where a large, almost solid white Nevermore descended from the sky rapidly with its plumage ablaze.

Three arrow-like feathers impacted the buildings around them, indicating that the Grimm had been perhaps targeting them from the heavens before it was struck down by lightning. The massive Nevermore crashed heavily into the ruined city below, not even a block from their position. The resulting crash toppled quite a few buildings from the heavy impact and a good remaining chunk of the Levi-creeps were crushed under rubble and decaying Grimm carcass.

This broke the three out of the heavy trance-like state they had fallen into, snapping them back to reality rather harshly.

"Lieutenant Belladonna, we rally near the mercenary, General Taurus, signal the fall back." Sienna eventually spoke, watching as the bone-white feathers previously aimed at them dug deep into the heavy stone the buildings around them were crafted from, "I want our wounded being sought to and our men given hot meals, get to it. I doubt the Levi-creeps will be a problem after tonight."

Adam looked like he wanted to argue with the woman but seemed to think better of it, instead snapping a tight salute in the High Leader's direction before moving to carry out her orders, his movement stiff and rather awkward as he tried to leave without turning his back to the black-clad mercenary who almost blended into the heavily dwindling crowd of Grimm. The scent of fear in the air was unmistakable, though he seemed to give off far more of the foul smelling pheromones than either she or the Lieutenant were.

Sienna couldn't help but find it rather strange, as Adam was hardly prone to showing such cowardice before.

The dark skinned tiger Faunus wouldn't admit it, but she was rather scared of the blond below as well, and for good reason. Her preferred weapon, a long chain-whip with three detachable dagger-tips enhanced with Dust shards, would likely be useless against said mercenary should he happen to become belligerent, as unlikely as that were to come to pass.

Not only was there a great size difference between herself and the tall man, with the blond hired by Ghira appearing to be around six and a half feet tall, but his weapon was equally as large as he was as well.

The monstrous blade that seemed to be an amalgamation of a multitude of smaller blades could quite easily slice through her chain if the trenches left in the heavy stone were any indications of its cutting power.

She knew _she_ couldn't leave gouges over a foot deep and inches across in stone with her little dagger whip, that was beyond certain. Perhaps weakly crafted walls of steel, as she had demonstrated in the past, but her fighting style was aimed far more towards agility and dexterity rather than brute force and Aura usage.

Sienna _still_ hadn't discovered her Semblance, and it had been close to twenty or so years since the powerful source of energy had been released from the depths of her Soul. This forced her to rely on her skills with the whip, Dust and intimidation tactics alone in combat, with her Aura simply there as a force field or way to heal from whatever wounds she received.

Her meager Aura reserves and weapon wouldn't last a second against the behemoth below, let alone if he happened to just summon his dragon again. It would be _suicide_ to even consider trying intimidation tactics to get such a person beneath her heel, so she was stuck with negotiations being the only possible option when it came to interacting with Ghira's recent hire-on.

While her position as High Leader within the White Fang brought her many privileges that most Faunus did not have intrinsically, such as wealth and prestige in the form of notoriety, Sienna felt there was little she could offer the swordsman currently providing a permanent solution to Menagerie's Grimm problem.

"Blake, is there... anything you can tell me about this man before we go down there?" As much as Sienna desired to remain the strong figure of authority that her position demanded of her, she couldn't stop the conflicting heat gnawing at her stomach as the man continued his deadly display below, "You mentioned his name, James Bark or...?"

"Jaune Arc, Ma'am. He claims to work for a company known as 'Strife Delivery Service', his position being a courier within said company." Blake listed what she knew about the blond with a small hitch in her breathing growing stronger, likely due to fear or the thinning air around them, "I made the mistake of questioning his ability to fight, causing him to display irritation. Otherwise, he is difficult to get a read on, practically a blank slate with how in control of himself he is."

"A _courier_?" Sienna was unsure of what to make of his job description, giving Blake a look that made her thoughts on the subject clear, "How do you know this blond fellow again?"

"He arrived at my home today some time before I did, bringing my mother a large package of books I believe. I wasn't there long enough tonight to speak with her on the subject much." The slightly taller female walked towards the edge of the building she and Sienna were currently standing on, the ground level only being approximately two floors down from their height, to get a better look below.

"Yes, your father was rather... pleased with the news, I was in the middle of a voice call when Kali mentioned they had a guest for dinner." Sienna followed Blake and scoffed lightly upon seeing close to twenty of the Levi-creeps still mulling about and thrashing one another to try and get at the mercenary a few blocks away, "I don't imagine being much of a help against those numbers."

The admission seemed to almost visibly wound her, as Blake tried to assure her that she doubted she would either, given the circumstances. "Gambol Shroud barely makes a dent in their armor, I'm next to useless against the Levi-creeps without a way to get past their scales."

"Either way, I would like to personally... _thank_ , this Jaune fellow and see about offering him a more permanent place here in Kuo Kuana. Do you think he might be agreeable to joining the White Fang?" Sienna glanced downward at her apparel, brushing the back of her right hand over her slightly bloodied and torn shirt from where she had taken a wound for Adam only a day prior.

"I... don't know, Ma'am." Blake admitted after a few moments of consideration, her brows furrowing in thought over what she did know about him, "He seems to get along with my mother well enough and he has obviously aided us in our battle against the Grimm, so he isn't _against_ the White Fang?"

It was impossible for the man to _not_ know whom he was aiding, so the chances of him actively disliking the White Fang were slim in Sienna's opinion, but she felt like it would be best to get perhaps a more educated opinion on the subject of her current inner turmoil.

Even as she said it, the Lieutenant of Adam Taurus looked conflicted on her answer, almost posing it as a question instead. The information that he got along with Kali Belladonna, however, was something Sienna could work with.

"Right, give me a moment then." Sienna murmured as she reached into the pouch hanging on her right hip to withdraw her Scroll from its sewn in slot in the bag, "Let me give her a call and see what she knows about Jaune before we make our presence known."

"As you wish, Ma'am."

The offered excuse was rather weak, as neither woman felt like leaving the safety their perch afforded them in order to speak with the blond mercenary for varying reasons.

One was out of fear, for having already visibly upset the blond prior to his wholesale slaughter of the Grimm.

The other because she didn't want to make a fool of herself by going in blind, especially when such a _rare_ specimen of a man was finishing off the remainders of the Grimm she had dreaming about seeing dead since they starting plaguing Menagerie.

 **[SaS]**

Kali groaned lightly in both frustration and pleasure as she heard her Scroll start ringing at the most _inopportune_ of times. "B'Ghira, sweetie, I-ah!-need to answer that!"

It was the things Ghira did with his tongue that made Kali glad she got him before Sienna could, the younger woman having been infatuated with the man for quite some time.

Reaching clumsily to her left to grab at the infernal device, which was _still_ ringing, Kali bit her lip in confusion and slight mischievousness. Think of the devil and she'll ask for a video chat, apparently.

' _Purr-fect timing, too!'_

A slightly worried looking Sienna popped up on Kali's screen, the background flashing brightly as the sound of thunder rolled over the landscape as far away as Kuo Kuana proper. "Kali, I'm glad you're still up, I have an urgent matter to discuss with you!"

Kali blinked lazily due to the sudden bright flash of light and loud crackle of lightning crashing in the background so clearly, leading the dark haired woman to assume Sienna was close to where lightning had been touching down near the mountain for the past five or so minutes.

She had been given a great view of the light show and only just missed the full formation of the weird tornado-like funnel that had started forming when her husband had went to town on her, so to speak. The chances of a tornado forming in Kuo Kuana was rather slim, and it would have likely been over the ocean by the time in would have touched down anyway.

"S _uu_ re," She couldn't help the slight hitch of her voice as she removed one hand from the back of her Scroll to grip her husbands hair tightly, "What's going on, Si-Si?"

The mere fact that Sienna didn't snarl or growl or anything of the sort upon hearing Kali's pet name for her told her something might be wrong, just now registering the fact that Sienna mentioned the word urgent as well. "Is everything okay?"

"Well, yes, maybe? I need to know everything you know about this Jaune Arc fellow your husband hired." Sienna reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose, visibly under stress on the other end of the call.

"Did Jaune do something bad? He isn't hurt, is he? Please tell me he isn't-" Kali would have continued, but Sienna quickly turned her scroll away from her face and over some sort of stone ledge, giving the short haired woman a better idea on where the tiger Faunus was currently at.

Stone buildings filled her view for a moment before the camera of Sienna's Scroll focused in on what appeared to be a churning sea of black and white. It took a second for Kali to realize that the sea of black was really over thirty or so Grimm piling over one another as they tried to close in on an almost blurry figure cleaving through the crowd with ridiculous ease, wielding a massive sword of some sort.

"You see that, Kali? Because I've never seen anyone that good at killing Grimm in my _life_ , and this isn't even _close_ to the crazy shit this mercenary pulled off! He summoned a DRAGON, Kali. A WHOLE _DRAGON!"_ Sienna snapped the camera back to her face quickly after admitting the last little bit of information, her orange eyes wide and blazing. "I need to know what I'm about to get myself into, Kali, and you seem to know the most about him by your daughters guess."

"Wait, what did you just say? What did I just hear?" Ghira questioned quickly upon hearing the tone in which Sienna was speaking, hardly ever hearing his old friend and successor so flustered, "A whole dragon? He _summoned_... a _whole dragon_? And I have to pay him for that?"

"You're not done yet, ladies are talking here." Kali quickly gripped Ghira's head and prevented it from rising from its position between her legs, "And you! Don't go trying to sink your claws into him, Sienna! I have plans to hook him up with my Blakey to get her away from that bully!"

Kali was not liking the direction their conversation seemed to be taking, knowing that her chances of getting Jaune to sweep her daughter off her feet despite her earlier words would be slim to none if Sienna took an active interest in the young man. "He's not even twenty yet, anyway!"

"I honestly don't give a damn! Your daughter has enough of a man in Taurus anyway, I doubt she'd change mates so quickly." Sienna seemed rather dismissive of the fact that Jaune was likely fifteen years her junior, "Lieutenant, do you have any desires of pursuing the mercenary?"

Kali was mortified to hear her daughters simpering ' _No Ma'am!'_ in the background and the smug expression that glossed Sienna's face afterwards.

"So, he's a delivery boy, then? I... damn, what kind of monster gets that strong and plays _delivery boy_? How does that make any sense?" Sienna tried to change the subject and get Kali back on track with answering her questions now that the pecking order for the rights of the blond had been established between the three women, "I need to do more research, but I don't have any time! Ugh!"

"Look, I'll tell you what I know, and you take it from there, okay? I'm... _busy_ right now, and you're not only breaking my heart, but interrupting my time with Ghira."

Kali got vindictive pleasure from the way Sienna's eyes narrowed upon hearing her admission. She may have won the battle for Jaune against her Blakey, for now, but Kali won the war for her husband and that made them even.

"Fine. Out with it, you old cougar."

"Hey! Look who's talkin' you damn cradle robber!"

 **[SaS]**

Jaune was keenly aware of the two women still perched atop one of the stone buildings within view from his position on the ground level some block and a half away, but his hearing was nowhere near as advanced as his vision and sense of smell and thus he couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

Wiping his brow lightly with the back of his left arm, the blond swordsman was made aware of his slightly dwindled Aura and Magic reserves after the summoning of Bahamut was completed. It seemed to require both energies on Remnant for the summoning process to function properly, but it was well worth it in his opinion.

With his Semblance allowing him to basically top of his Aura whenever he so desired, his ability to fight was only limited to his physical and mental energies alone. That said, even with as much Aura and Magic as he had running through his veins, he was slightly tired after mowing down close to a hundred of the reptilian Grimm alone, and that was _before_ he summoned Bahamut on them.

Despite feeling somewhat weary, however, the former terrorist pressed onwards and continued his mission of cleaning out the nest of the Grimm with no small amount of determination. His idea of asking Ghira for the rights to some prime picks of land in the quickly developing island nation would require a service worthy of his request, and he felt the complete annihilation of the native Grimm population surrounding Kuo Kuana for a few miles would be a good start.

Due to his nature as a former experiment of Professor Hojo, even in a new life, he found it hard to stay around people for any extended periods of time beyond those he associated with from AVALANCHE. His relationship with the Arc Family, while indeed a familial bond, he was still far too different from his seven sisters and parents to claim being entirely comfortable with said differences.

He wanted a place to call his own, where his sisters and parents couldn't track him down to harass him and call him a weirdo or an alien. Hiding out amongst the Faunus seemed to be his best bet in that regard, as the Arc's would never think to look here for him.

Especially if he picked up an alias. He wasn't above wearing fake facial hair, a bald cap, a suit and some sunglasses, his impressions of Rude being almost indecipherable from the real deal due to a few years of fighting along side the man. It wouldn't be his first course of action, but that didn't mean he wouldn't eventually stoop to that level if he felt the need.

He had once worn a dress to sneak into a crime lords bed and had convinced the man to pick _him_ over Tifa and Aeris. Jaune wasn't exactly keen on doing it again, but he had learned a lot about going incognito from that experience alone. Working along side the former Turks for years only honed his abilities further.

Another major purpose of his for having a large amount of land to call his own would be to create a layover position between Vale and Mistral to use during deliveries. He had plans of creating an airship of his own off a few scrapped Atlesian Military crafts and a few pieces of technology he had a hand in creating along with Cid Highwind that Remnant sorely lacked.

Anti-Gravity that didn't rely on Dust to function was pretty interesting, and he was still a bit upset he couldn't apply the rough engine he had created a few years prior to the permanently grounded beast he named Fenrir.

After approximately ten minutes of further conflict after the dragon king dissipated, the ancient ruins were as clear as they were going to get for the time being. When no more Levi-creeps tried to throw themselves at him and Jaune was left standing with his sword at the ready for more than a minute without any activity, the black clad swordsman finally allowed the Fusion Blade to lower from its readied stance.

With no Grimm left to deal with for the time being, it left Jaune a few moments of peace to gather his thoughts and regain his breath. Even after years of constant exercise, extended usage of the Fusion Sword in it's full form took a toll on his stamina, hence his need for slightly smaller blades to work with if a situation in which he had to heavily conserve stamina arose.

Even with Aura, Mana, Mako and C-Cells running through his veins, it would require another few years of growing before he reached his peak once more. He was twenty two in his previous life when his physical strength and mental stability peaked, and it would likely be the same in his current life on Remnant as well.

Sighing lightly while rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck, Jaune called out to the two women that continued to jump from rooftop to rooftop to get closer to the fighting when it became clear they weren't going to leave without speaking to him. "You can come down, it's clear for now."

They seemed to hesitate for a few more moments, consulting one another lowly before they decided to follow through and leap down from the rooftops. Both were forced to roll as they landed to prevent any sort of damage to their limbs, but it was graceful enough that Jaune could say he was slightly jealous.

Due to his size, grace was not exactly his forte. Raw power, however, was.

"Miss Belladonna, Miss..." He paused and looked in the shorter of the two's direction, waiting patiently for an introduction.

She must have been someone important for the daughter of the High Chieftain to defer to the shorter woman to take the lead. The blond took a moment to take in her appearance, finding the word fierce being the best to describe her if he was forced to choose.

The first thing he noticed about the woman were the large orange and black striped tiger ears resting upon her head, the left ear having two golden rings piercing it. Her skin was much darker than Blake's, and her sharply shaped eyes were colored a burning orange. She wore a black sleeveless top that exposed a bit of skin with a crimson and black garment and belt covered her midsection. The garment seemed to cover the top of her waist and black leggings protected her legs from the element, finished off with oriental looking sandals strapped to her feet.

Her weapon was an odd one, being a chain whip with three dagger-tips attached to the end. Jaune highly doubted getting hit with that weapon would be pleasant, though he could think of a hundred ways to counter it in almost an instant should she choose to attack him.

Chain wielding foes had not been completely uncommon in the past, to say the least.

"Sienna Khan, High Leader of the White Fang and fill-in Chieftain of Kuo Kuana when Ghira is away." The woman answered instantly, her tone somewhere in between demure and awe, though not overly so. "Who might you be, Sir?"

"Jaune Arc, Strife Delivery Service. What can I do for you tonight, Ma'am?" Jaune questioned almost tonelessly, only a small amount of weariness present in his voice.

Fighting so many Grimm alone would cause more than just weariness in most, however, showing just what kind of mental and physical fortitude Jaune held, though the fighting isn't what caused his current unsureness.

"I was hoping to speak with you for a few moments, if you were finished with your... hunt." Sienna admitted as she shifted from one leg to another, Blake doing the same behind her a moment or so later.

The blond tensed slightly as he made eye contact with the woman, his grip on the Fusion Sword tightening all the while. "For what purpose?"

Sienna didn't answer verbally at first, instead shooting a fleeting glance over her shoulder at Blake before returning her attention forward, unable to school the worried glare lingering in her eyes. "I would prefer to speak about it in private, if that would be to your liking?"

This only made him tense further, and once again the faint smell of fear and desire danced across his nose before disappearing as quickly as it came.

 _'God's damnit, another one.'_


End file.
